Division  ”53  L2^I43 

Section 


i 


■**s 


V 


( Frontispiece .) 


PAINTED  LIMESTONE  HEAD  OF  A  QUEEN  IN  THE  MUSEUM  AT  BERLIN. 
It  is  supposed  to  represent  Queen  Nefertiti,  wife  of  Amenhetep  IV. 


TUTANKHAMEN 

AMENISM,  ATENISM  AND 
EGYPTIAN  MONOTHEISM 

WITH  HIEROGLYPHIC  TEXTS  OF  HYMNS  TO  AMEN 

and  Aten,  translation  \  And  illustrations  by 

SIR  ERNEST  A.  WALLIS  BUDGE,  LITT.D.,  D.LITT. 
KEEPER  OF  THE  EGYPTIAN  AND  ASSYRIAN 
ANTIQUITIES  IN  THE  BRITISH  MUSEUM 


DODD,  MEAD  AND  COMPANY, 
NEW  YORK:  LONDON,  MARTIN 
HOPKINSON  &  COMPANY  LTD.,  1923 


Printed  in  Great  Britain  by 

Harrison  &  Sons,  Ltd.,  45-47,  St.  Martin's  Lane,  London,  W.C. 


TO 

THE  MEMORY  OF 

GEORGE  EDWARD  STANHOPE  MOLYNEUX  HERBERT 


EARL  OF  CARNARVON 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2019  with  funding  from 
Princeton  Theological  Seminary  Library 


https://archive.org/details/tutankharnenameni00budg_0 


CONTENTS 


The  Reign  of  Tutankhamen 

Tutankhamen  and  the  Cult  of  Amen 

A  Hymn  to  Amen  and  Aten 

The  Cult  of  Aten,  the  God  and  Disk  of  the 
Sun,  its  origin,  development  and  decline 

Development  of  the  Cult  of  Aten  under 
Amenhetep  IV 

Hymns  to  Aten 

A  Hymn  to  Aten  by  the  King 

A  Hymn  to  Aten  by  Ai,  Overseer  of  the 
Horse 

Hymns  to  the  Sun-god 

Egyptian  Monotheism 

Index  ••  ••  ••  ••  ••  •• 


PAGE 

i 

14 

46 

55 

75 

hi 

116 

122 

136 

140 

i53 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

i.  Plates 

Painted  limestone  head  of  a  queen  supposed 
to  represent  Queen  Nefertiti,  wife  of 
Amenhetep  IV  . .  . .  . .  Frontispiece 

Hui,  presenting  to  Tutankhamen  tribute  page 
and  gifts  from  vassal  peoples  To  face  p.  n 

Granite  lion  dedicated  by  Tutankhamen 

to  the  Temple  of  Sulb  . .  To  face  p.  12 

Colossal  head  of  Amenhetep  III  . .  „  34 

Stele  of  Her  and  Suti  . .  . .  „  46 

Queen  Ti,  wife  of  Amenhetep  III  . .  „  66 

Scarab  recording  the  wild  cattle  hunt  of 

Amenhetep  III  . .  . .  To  face  p.  70 

Portrait  figure  of  Amenhetep  IV  . .  „  76 

Portrait  head  of  Amenhetep  IV  „  80 

Sphinx,  with  the  head  of  Amenhetep  IV 

To  face  p.  82 

Portraits  of  two  daughters  of  Amenhetep 

IV  . .  . .  . .  To  face  p.  94 

Variegated  glass  bottle  in  the  form  of  a 

fish  . .  . .  . .  . .  To  face  p.  104 


V1U 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


2.  Illustrations  in  the  Text. 


Amen-Ra,  King  of  the  Gods 

PAGE 

14 

Amenit 

14 

Heraakhuti,  Horus  of  the  Two  Horizons 

19 

Temu,  ancient  solar  Man-headed  god 

19 

Amenhetep  III  accepted  by  Amen-Ra 
his  son 

as 

23 

Khnem,  Anqit  and  Sati,  Triad 
Elephantine 

of 

25 

Amenhetep  III  in  the  Temple  of  Sulb 

26 

Hathor  of  Thebes 

27 

Mut,  consort  of  Amen-Ra 

27 

Khensu,  the  Moon-god 

29 

Anpu  (Anubis),  son  of  Set  and  Nephthys 

29 

Sebak,  the  Crocodile-god 

30 

Net  (Neith)  consort  of  Sebak 

30 

Her-Semsu,  Homs  the  Aged 

31 

Her-pa-khart  (Harpokrates) 

31 

Her-netch-tef-f 

33 

Ment-Heraakhuti,  War-god  of  Hermonthis 

33 

Menu  Ka-mut-f 

36 

Geb,  the  Earth-god 

38 

Nut,  the  Sky-goddess 

38 

Ptah,  Man-god  of  Memphis  . . 

39 

ILLUSTRATIONS  ix 

PAGE 

Sekhmit  (Sekhet),  consort  of  Ptah  . .  . .  39 

Horus  and  Set,  twin  gods  . .  . .  . .  56 

Nephthys,  consort  of  Set  . .  . .  . .  56 

Shu,  god  of  heat  and  light  . .  . .  . .  57 

Tefnut,  consort  of  Shu,  goddess  of  moisture 

and  water  . .  . .  . .  . .  . .  57 

Osiris,  king  and  judge  of  the  dead  . .  . .  59 

Isis,  consort  of  Osiris . .  . .  . .  . .  59 

Osiris  Khenti  Amentt  . .  . .  . .  63 

Ptah-Seker-Asar,  god  of  the  Osirian 
Resurrection  63 

Aten,  source  of  life  . .  78 

Heqit,  a  primeval  frog-headed  goddess  . .  81 

Thoth,  the  mind  of  the  Creator  . .  . .  86 

Maat,  goddess  of  Law  and  Truth  . .  . .  86 

Amenhetep  IV  and  his  wife  making  offerings 
to  Aten  . .  . .  . .  . .  . .  88 

Amenhetep  IV  and  his  queen  and  family 
adoring  Aten  . .  . .  . .  . .  90 

Amenhetep  IV  bestowing  gifts  on  courtiers  91 

Amenhetep  IV  and  his  queen  and  family 
seated  under  the  rays  of  Aten  . .  . .  93 

The  four  grandsons  of  Horus  the  Aged, 

guardians  of  the  viscera  of  the  dead  . .  95 

Amenhetep  IV  on  his  portable  lion-throne  97 

Amenhetep  IV  bestowing  gifts  . .  . .  99 


/ 


l 


PREFACE 


The  announcement  made  early  in  December, 

1922,  of  the  discovery  of  the  Tomb  of  Tutankh¬ 
amen  in  the  Valley  of  the  Tombs  of  the  Kings  in 
Western  Thebes  by  the  late  Lord  Carnarvon  and 
Mr.  Howard  Carter  sent  a  thrill  of  wonder  and 
expectation  through  all  the  civilized  peoples  on  the 
earth.  In  the  accounts  of  the  contents  of  the  Tomb, 
which  were  published  with  admirable  promptness 
and  fullness  in  The  Times ,  we  read  of  bodies  of 
chariots,  chairs  of  state,  gilded  couches,  royal 
apparel,  boxes  of  trinkets  and  food  and  cosmetics 
and  toilet  requisites,  large  bitumenized  wooden 
statues,  alabaster  vessels  of  hitherto  unknown 
shapes  and  beauty,  and  countless  other  objects, 
until  the  mind  reeled  in  its  attempts  to  imagine  the 
sight  that  met  the  eyes  of  the  two  discoverers 

4  when  they  entered  the  two  outer  chambers.  Those 
who  have  seen  the  smaller  objects  and  have 
enjoyed  the  privilege  of  examining  them  have  been 
amazed  at  their  exquisite  beauty  and  finish ;  and 
there  is  no  doubt  that  the  importance  of  the  “  find," 
from  an  artistic  point  of  view,  can  be  expressed  in 
words  only  with  difficulty.  It  is  easy  to  believe 
Sarwat  Pasha  when  he  says  none  of  the  accounts 
published  have  really  done  justice  to  the  “  finds," 
which,  however,  is  not  surprising,  since  their 
beauty  is  unique  and  indescribable  [Times,  Jan.  18, 

1923,  p.  9). 


Xll 


PREFACE 


All  the  writers  who  have  described  and  discussed 
the  discovery  have,  quite  rightly,  lost  no  oppor¬ 
tunity  of  proclaiming  the  great  value  and  import¬ 
ance  of  Lord  Carnarvon's  “  find  ”  as  illustrating  the 
arts  and  crafts  that  were  practised  in  the  city  of 
Aakhut- Aten  under  its  founder,  the  famous  Atenite 
king,  Amenhetep  IV.  But  some  of  them  have  been 
led  astray  by  their  eagerness  to  do  ample  justice  to 
the  great  discovery,  and  have  introduced  into  their 
eulogies  statements  of  a  historical  character  which 
are  incorrect.  Some  have  declared  that  the  informa¬ 
tion  derived  from  the  “  find  ”  makes  necessary  the 
rewriting  and  recasting  of  the  history  of  the 
XVIIIth  dynasty,  but  there  is  no  foundation  for 
this  statement,  for  the  authorized  accounts  of  the 
Tomb  of  Tutankhamen  and  its  contents  include  no 
new  historical  facts.  Lord  Carnarvon  may  have 
obtained  from  the  tomb  information  that  would 
amplify  our  knowledge  of  the  reign  of  Tutankh¬ 
amen,  but  if  he  did  so  he  did  not  publish  it.  As 
matters  stand  we  know  no  more  now  about  the 
reign  of  this  king  than  we  did  before  Lord  Carnarvon 
made  his  phenomenal  discovery.  Other  writers 
have  tried  to  make  out  that  Tutankhamen  was 
one  of  the  greatest  of  the  kings  of  Egypt,  but  this 
is  not  the  case.  When  he  came  to  the  throne  he 
professed  the  same  religion  as  his  wife,  that  is  to 
say,  the  cult  of  Aten,  the  Solar  Disk,  or  Atenism, 
and  for  a  short  time  he  continued  to  do  so.  But 
he  soon  realized  that  Atenism  had  failed,  and  then 
he  substituted  the  name  of  Amen  for  Aten  in  his 
own  name  and  that  of  his  wife,  and  became  a  fervent 


PREFACE 


Xlll 


follower  of  Amen  and  a  worshipper  of  the  old 
gods  of  his  country.  The  fame  of  Tutankhamen 
really  rests  on  the  fact  that  he  restored  the  national 
worship  of  Amen,  and  made  the  Atenites  to  re¬ 
linquish  their  hold  upon  the  revenues  of  this  god. 
Other  writers  again  have  tried  to  show  that 
Tutankhamen  was  the  “  Pharaoh  of  the  Exodus,” 
and  also  that  it  was  his  wife  Ankh-s-en-pa-Aten 
(or  Amen)  who  took  Moses  out  of  his  ark  of 
bulrushes  and  brought  him  up.  But  there  was 
more  than  one  Exodus,  and  Tutankhamen  was 
not  King  of  Egypt  when  any  of  them  took  place. 
And  strange  views  have  been  promulgated  even 
about  some  of  the  articles  of  furniture  that  Lord 
Carnarvon  found  in  the  tomb.  Thus  the  funerary 
couch  or  bier  with  legs  made  in  the  form  of  a 
strange  beast  has  been  declared  to  be  of  Meso¬ 
potamian  origin  ;  but  such  is  not  the  case.  The 
beast  represented  is  the  composite  monster  called 
“  Ammit,”  i.e.  “  Eater  of  the  Dead,”  and  she  is 
found  in  the  Judgment  Scene  in  all  the  great 
papyri  containing  the  Theban  Recension  of  the  Book 
of  the  Dead.  About  her  component  parts  there 
is  no  doubt,  for  in  the  Papyrus  of  Hunefer  it  is 
written,  “  Her  fore-part  is  crocodile,  her  hind¬ 
quarters  are  hippopotamus,  her  middle  part  lion  (or 


The  Mesopotamians  knew  of  no  such  beast,  and 
the  couch  or  bier  could  only  have  been  made  in 


XIV 


PREFACE 


Egypt,  where  the  existence  of  Ammit  was  believed 
in  and  the  fear  of  her  was  great. 

Some  of  the  writers  on  Lord  Carnarvon’s  dis¬ 
coveries  discussed  not  only  the  Tomb  of  Tutankh¬ 
amen,  but  the  religious  revolution  which  seems 
to  have  been  inaugurated  by  Amenhetep  III,  at 
the  instance  of  his  wife  Queen  Ti,  and  was  certainly 
carried  on  with  increasing  vigour  by  their  son, 
Amenhetep  IV,  who  believed  that  he  was  an 
incarnation  of  Aten,  the  god  of  the  Solar  Disk. 
Their  discussions  gave  many  people  an  entirely 
false  idea  of  the  character  of  Amenhetep  IV,  and 
of  the  nature  of  the  cult  of  Aten.  This  king  was 
described  as  a  reformer,  an  individualist,  and  an 
idealist  and  a  pacifist ;  but  he  was  a  reformer  who 
initiated  no  permanent  reform,  an  individualist 
who  diverted  the  revenues  of  the  gods  of  his 
country  to  his  own  uses,  an  idealist  who  followed 
the  cult  of  the  material,  and  a  pacifist  who  lost 
Egypt’s  Asiatic  Empire.  His  “  Teaching  ”  pro¬ 
claimed  the  “  oneness  ”  of  Aten,  which  has  been 
compared  to  the  monotheism  of  Christian  nations ; 
but  for  centuries  before  his  time  the  priesthoods 
of  Heliopolis,  Memphis,  Hermopolis  and  Thebes 
had  proclaimed  this  self-same  oneness  to  be  the 
chief  attribute  of  their  gods.  This  “  Teaching  ” 
was  said  to  inculcate  a  religion  and  morality 
superior  to  any  doctrine  found  in  the  Old  Testa¬ 
ment,  and  some  enthusiasts  would  have  us  believe 
that  in  spiritual  conceptions  and  sublime  precepts 
it  surpassed  Christ’s  teaching  as  set  forth  in  the 
Gospels.  Practically  all  that  we  know  of  the 


PREFACE 


xv 


“  Teaching ”  of  Amenhetep  IV  is  found  in  a 
short  hymn,  which  is  attributed  to  the  king  him¬ 
self,  and  in  a  longer  hymn,  which  is  found  in  the 
Tomb  of  Ai,  his  disciple  and  successor,  at  Tall  al- 
'Amarnah.  The  language  and  phrasing  of  these 
works  are  very  interesting,  for  they  show  a  just 
appreciation  of  the  benefits  that  man  and  beast 
alike  derive  from  the  creative  and  fructifying 
influence  of  the  heat  and  light  of  the  sun.  But  I 
cannot  find  in  them  a  single  expression  that 
contains  any  spiritual  teaching,  or  any  exhortation 
to  purity  of  life,  or  any  word  of  consciousness 
of  sin,  or  any  evidence  of  belief  in  a  resurrection 
and  a  life  beyond  the  grave.  It  is  of  course 
possible  that  all  the  religious  works  of  the  Atenites, 
except  these  hymns,  have  perished,  but  the  fact 
remains  that  it  is  upon  these  two  hymns,  and  the 
extracts  from  them  which  are  found  in  the  tombs 
of  officials  at  Tall  al-‘  Amarnah,  that  modern  writers 
have  founded  their  views  and  statements  about 
the  highly  spiritual  character  of  the  religion  and 
morality  of  the  Atenites. 

Whilst  discussing  these  and  similar  matters  here 
with  Lord  Carnarvon  about  the  middle  of  last 
December,  he  suggested  that  I  should  put  together, 
in  a  small  book,  the  known  facts  about  the  reign 
of  Tutankhamen,  and  add  two  or  three  chapters  on 
the  cults  of  Amen,  Aten,  and  Egyptian  Monotheism, 
which  had  been  so  completely  misrepresented.  He 
was  particularly  anxious  that  translations  of  some 
of  the  hymns  to  Amen  and  Aten  should  be  given, 
and  that  the  most  important  of  them  should  be 


XVI 


PREFACE 


accompanied  by  the  original  hieroglyphic  texts,  so 
that  those  who  cared  to  go  into  the  matter  might 
have  the  means  of  forming  their  own  conclusions 
about  the  character  of  the  hymns  to  Aten,  and 
deciding  whether  it  was  spiritual  or  material.  In 
the  following  pages  I  have  tried  to  carry  out  his 
suggestion,  and  in  the  circumstances  perhaps  it 
will  not  be  out  of  place  to  say  a  few  words  about 
his  labours  in  the  field  of  Egyptian  Archaeology. 

In  the  winter  of  1907-08,  Lord  Carnarvon  carried 
out  a  series  of  comprehensive  excavations  at  Drah 
abul  Nakkah  and  in  the  Valley  of  Der  al-Bahari 
in  Western  Thebes.  In  these,  as  in  all  his  subse¬ 
quent  excavations,  he  was  assisted  by  Mr.  Howard 
Carter,  formerly  Inspector  in  the  Service  of 
Antiquities  of  Egypt.  This  gentleman  possessed 
very  special  qualifications  for  the  work  that  he 
undertook  for  Lord  Carnarvon,  namely,  a  good 
knowledge  of  colloquial  Arabic,  great  experience 
in  dealing  with  the  natives  and  the  “  antica  ” 
dealers  in  the  country,  skill  in  the  practical  work 
of  excavation,  and  keen  interest  in  Egyptian 
Archaeology.  At  Der  al-Bahari,  Lord  Carnarvon 
discovered  two  important  ostraka  inscribed  with 
texts,  the  one  dealing  with  the  deeds  of  King 
Karnes,  and  the  other  containing  a  portion  of  a 
new  version  of  the  Precepts  of  Ptah-hetep.  In 
1908-09  he  discovered  the  tomb  of  Tetaki,  and  a 
tomb  of  the  XXVth  dynasty  containing  the 
coffins  of  nine  persons.  In  1910-11  he  discovered 
an  unfinished  temple  of  Hatshepsut,  a  ruined 
temple  of  Rameses  IV,  a  cemetery  of  the  Xllth 


PREFACE 


xvn 


dynasty,  and  a  number  of  early  burials.  A  full 
account  of  what  he  did  at  Thebes  will  be  found  in 
his  Five  Years'  Explorations  at  Thebes  (1907-11), 
Oxford,  1912.  This  book  is  illustrated  by  eighty 
fine  folio  plates,  and  is  one  of  the  fullest  accounts 
hitherto  published  of  archaeological  work  done  in 
Egypt.  In  1911-12  he  continued  his  excavations 
at  Thebes,  and  broke  new  ground  at  Xoi's,  in  the 
Delta.  In  1912  he  discovered  at  Thebes  a  large 
temple-deposit  of  Hatshepsut,  consisting  of  ala¬ 
baster  jars,  tools,  etc.,  and  a  number  of  pit-tombs 
of  the  Xllth  dynasty.  In  1915  he  discovered  and 
cleared  out  the  Tomb  of  Amenhetep  I,  and  in 
1916-17  he  discovered  a  tomb  which  had  been  pre¬ 
pared  for  Hatshepsut.  The  latter  contained  a 
magnificent  sarcophagus  of  crystalline  limestone 
inscribed  with  the  Queen's  name  and  titles  as  wife 
of  the  reigning  Pharaoh.  It  is  impossible  to 
enumerate  here,  however  briefly,  the  various 
excavations  which  he  carried  out  at  Thebes 
between  1907  and  1921,  but  it  must  be  stated  that 
he  superintended  them  all  personally,  and  that 
he  alone  defrayed  all  the  expenses,  which,  as  will 
be  readily  understood,  were  very  considerable. 

In  recent  years  he  sought  for  a  wider  sphere  of 
excavation,  and  turned  his  attention  to  the 
Valley  of  the  Tombs  of  the  Kings  in  Western 
Thebes,  which  was  one  of  the  sites  reserved  for 
Government  excavation.  During  the  early  years 
of  this  century  Mr.  T.  Davis  obtained  permission 
to  dig  there  from  the  late  Prof.  Maspero,  Director 
of  the  Service  of  Antiquities  of  Egypt,  and,  with 


XV111 


PREFACE 


the  help  of  Mr.  Howard  Carter  and  Mr.  Ayrton,  he 
succeeded  in  locating  and  excavating  the  tombs 
of  Queen  Hatshepsut,  Thothmes  IV,  Heremheb, 
Menephthah,  Saptah,  and  the  unopened  tomb  of 
Iuau  and  Tuau,  the  father  and  mother  of  Queen  Ti. 
When  he  had  done  this  he  announced  to  Maspero, 
"  The  Valley  is  now  cleared,  there  are  no  more 
royal  tombs  in  it  ”  ;  and  most  people  were  willing 
to  accept  these  words  as  the  statement  of  a  fact. 
But  Lord  Carnarvon  did  not  believe  that  Mr. 
Davis’s  opinion  was  correct,  and,  having  obtained 
the  necessary  permission  from  the  Government,  he 
and  Mr.  Carter  set  to  work  to  prove  that  it  was 
not.  Each  felt  that  somewhere  in  the  Valley  one 
or  two  royal  tombs  must  still  exist,  and  knowledge, 
judgment,  unceasing  labour,  and  luck  enabled 
them  to  light  upon  the  most  magnificent  archaeo¬ 
logical  “  find  ”  ever  made  in  Egypt.  The  follow¬ 
ing  extract  from  a  letter  which  he  wrote  to  me 
on  December  i,  1922,  shows  how  he  personally 
regarded  his  great  triumph.  He  says  : — 

“  One  line  just  to  tell  you  that  we  have  found  the  most 
remarkable  ‘  find  ’  that  has  ever  been  made,  I  expect,  in  Egypt 
or  elsewhere.  I  have  only  so  far  got  into  two  chambers,  but 
there  is  enough  in  them  to  fill  most  of  your  rooms  at  the  B.M. 
(upstairs)  ;  and  there  is  a  sealed  door  where  goodness  knows 
what  there  is.  It  is  not  only  the  quantity  of  the  objects, 
but  their  exceptional  beauty,  finish  and  originality,  which 
makes  this  such  an  extraordinary  discovery.  There  is  a 
throne,  or  chair,  there  more  beautiful  than  any  object  that 
has  been  found  in  Egypt ;  alabaster  vases  of  the  most  mar¬ 
vellous  work,  and  quite  unknown  except  as  represented  in  the 
tombs ;  couches  of  state,  chairs,  beds,  wonderful  beadwork, 


PREFACE 


xix 


four  chariots  encrusted  with  precious  stones,  life-size  bitu- 
menised  figures  of  the  king  in  solid  gold  sandals  and  covered 
with  insignia,  boxes  innumerable,  the  king’s  clothes,  a  shawabti 
about  3  feet  high,  sticks  of  state.  I  have  not  opened  the  boxes, 
and  don’t  know  what  is  in  them ;  but  there  are  some  papyrus 
letters,  faience,  jewellery,  bouquets,  candles  on  ankh  candle¬ 
sticks.  All  this  is  in  [the]  front  chamber,  besides  lots  of 
stuff  you  can’t  see.  There  is  then  another  room  which  you 
can’t  get  into  owing  to  the  chaos  of  furniture,  etc.,  alabaster 
statues,  etc.,  piled  up  4  or  5  feet  high.  Then  we  come  to  the 
sealed  door  behind  which,  I  am  sure,  is  the  king  and  God 
knows  what.  Some  of  the  stuff  is  in  excellent  condition,  some 
is  poor,  but  the  whole  thing  is  marvellous ;  and  then  there  is 
that  sealed  door  !  !  Even  Lacau1  was  touched  by  the  sight. 
[Two  paragraphs  omitted.]  It  is  going  to  cost  me  something 
awful,  but  I  am  going  to  try  to  do  it  all  myself.  I  think  it 
will  take  Carter  and  three  assistants  nearly  two  years  to  remove, 
if  we  find  much  behind  the  seals.  I  am  coming  back  in  ten 
days  and  will  try  and  see  you. — Yours  ever,  Carnarvon.” 

Having  found  the  archaeological  “  pearl  of  great 
price/’  with  characteristic  generosity  he  was 
anxious  that  all  who  could  should  come  to  Luxor 
to  see  it  and  to  rejoice  over  it  with  him.  He  made 
an  arrangement  with  The  Times  to  publish  detailed 
accounts  of  the  clearing  of  the  outer  chambers, 
and  to  reproduce  the  splendid  photographs  of  the 
most  striking  objects,  which  were  made  for  him  by 
a  member  of  the  American  Archaeological  Mission, 
and  thus  people  in  all  parts  of  the  world  were 
able  to  watch  almost  daily  the  progress  of  the 
work.  Visitors  from  many  countries  thronged 
to  Luxor  to  see  Tutankhamen’s  tomb  and  the 
wonders  that  it  contained,  and  Lord  Carnarvon 

The  present  Director  of  the  Service  of  Antiquities. 


i 


XX 


PREFACE 


spent  himself  freely  in  helping  them  in  every  way 
in  his  power.  He  gave  them  his  time  and  energy 
and  knowledge  ungrudgingly,  but  this  work,  alas  ! 
used  up  his  strength  and  exhausted  him.  He  was 
not  physically  a  strong  or  robust  man,  and  the 
effects  of  a  serious  motor  accident,  sustained  many 
years  ago,  and  of  two  illnesses  in  recent  years,  had 
taken  toll  of  his  vitality.  His  spirit  and  courage 
were  invincible,  nothing  could  daunt  those,  but  the 
work  that  he  had  imposed  upon  himself  was  too 
exhausting  for  him.  Then,  when  he  was  overtired 
and  overworked,  came  the  mosquito  bite  on  his 
face.  Every  traveller  in  Egypt  who  has  been  the 
victim  of  the  malignant  and  deadly  mosquitoes, 
which  are  blown  into  the  country  in  millions  by 
the  hot  south  winds  in  March  and  April,  knows 
how  serious  are  the  fever  and  prostration  that 
follow  their  successful  attacks  on  the  human  body. 
The  days  passed  and  his  work  increased,  and,  as 
he  refused  to  spare  himself,  serious  illness  came 
upon  him,  and  he  was  obliged  to  go  to  Cairo  and 
place  himself  in  the  hands  of  the  doctors.  There 
everything  that  medical  science  and  skill  could 
devise  was  done  for  him,  but  little  by  little  he 
sank,  and  early  in  the  morning  of  April  5  he 
passed  peacefully  away.  The  sympathy  of  the 
whole  world  went  forth  to  him  as  he  lay  in  that 
sick  chamber  in  Cairo,  fighting  his  fight  with 
Death  ;  that  he  should  die  so  soon  after  winning 
such  a  glorious  triumph  seemed  incredible. 

The  death  of  Lord  Carnarvon  is  a  serious  blow 
for  Egyptian  Archaeology,  and  his  loss  is  irreparable. 


PREFACE 


xxi 


For  sixteen  long  years  he  devoted  himself  to 
excavations  in  Egypt,  and  he  gave  to  them  time, 
energy,  and  money  on  a  scale  which  no  other 
archaeologist  has  ever  done.  The  spirit  of  Ancient 
Egypt  gripped  him  nearly  twenty  years  ago,  and 
every  year  that  passed  strengthened  its  hold  upon 
him.  The  dry  bones  of  Egyptian  philology  left 
him  cold,  and  when  Egyptologists  squabbled  over 
dates  and  chronology  in  his  presence  his  chuckle 
was  a  delightful  thing  to  hear.  But  he  was  fired 
by  the  exquisite  beauty  of  form  and  colour  which 
he  found  in  the  antiquities  of  Egypt,  and  his 
collection  of  small  Egyptian  antiquities  at  High- 
clere  Castle  is,  for  its  size,  probably  the  most 
perfect  known.  He  only  cared  for  the  best,  and 
nothing  but  the  best  would  satisfy  him,  and  having 
obtained  the  best  he  persisted  in  believing  that 
there  must  be  somewhere  something  better  than 
the  best  !  His  quest  for  the  beautiful  in  Egyptian 
design,  form,  and  colour  became  the  cult  of  his 
life  in  recent  years.  His  taste  was  faultless,  and 
his  instinct  for  the  true  and  genuine  was  unrivalled. 
When  compared  with  a  beautiful  “  antica  ”  money 
had  no  value  for  him,  and  he  was  wont  to  say, 
with  Sir  Henry  Rawlinson,  “It  is  easier  to  get 
money  than  anticas.”  His  work  in  Egypt  brought 
him  into  contact  with  natives  of  all  kinds,  and 
he  was  universally  popular  with  them,  and  he  will 
be  remembered  for  a  long  time  as  a  generous 
employer  and  friend.  His  keen  sense  of  humour, 
his  quick  wit,  his  capacity  for  understanding  a 
matter  swiftly,  his  ready  sympathy,  and  his  old- 


XXII 


PREFACE 


world  courtesy  appealed  greatly  to  the  governing 
classes  in  Egypt,  and  endeared  him  to  his  friends, 
who  were  legion,  both  Oriental  and  Occidental. 
Here  I  have  only  ventured  to  speak  of  Lord 
Carnarvon  as  the  great  and  disinterested  archaeo¬ 
logist,  who  gave  years  of  his  life  and  untold 
treasure  for  the  sake  of  his  love  for  science,  for  I 
have  neither  the  knowledge  nor  the  ability  to  deal 
with  his  successes  as  a  pioneer  of  colour  photo¬ 
graphy,  and  as  a  collector  of  prints,  pictures, 
books,  etc.  These,  and  many  of  the  phases  of  his 
character  and  pursuits,  are  treated  felicitously  and 
sympathetically  in  a  careful  appreciation  of  his 
life  and  character  which  appeared  in  The  Times , 
published  on  the  day  of  his  burial  on  Beacon  Hill 
(April  30). 

E.  A.  Wallis  Budge. 

British  Museum, 

May  7,  1923. 


NOTES 


The  kings  of  the  XVII I th  dynasty  reigned  about  230 
years,  i.e.,  from  about  b.c.  1580  to  1350  ;  their  names  are 
as  follows  : — 


Aahmes  1580,  reigned  about  22  years. 

Amenhetep  I,  about  1558-7,  reigned  about  10  years. 
Thothmes  I,  about  1546,  reigned  about  30  years. 
Thothmes  II,  about  1500,  reigned  about  3  years. 
Hatshepsut! 

‘  ,,  TTT  i about  1500  to  1447. 

Thothmes  III  J 

Amenhetep  II,  about  1448,  reigned  about  26  years. 
Thothmes  IV,  about  1420,  reigned  about  8  years. 
Amenhetep  III,  about  1412,  reigned  36  years. 
Amenhetep  IV,  about  1376,  reigned  17  years. 

Sakara 

reigned  8-12  years. 


Tutankhamen 

Ai 

Heremheb,  about  1350,  reigned  34  years. 


1 


In  the  transliterations  of  proper  names  a  few  diacritical 
marks  are  used  : — a=short  a,  e,  or  i  ;  a=a  in  father ;  h  is  a 
strongly  aspirated  h;  t=a  sound  something  like  d;  k,  a 
deep  guttural  like  the  Hebrew  p  ;  ‘a=the  sound  of  the  Hebrew 
ay  in. 


1 


THE  REIGN  OF  TUTANKHAMEN. 


(J.  ™  ^  (“  living  Image  of 


Amen  ”),  King*  of  Egypt,  about  b.c.  1400. 


When  and  where  Tutankhamen  was  born  is 
unknown,  and  there  is  some  doubt  about  the 
identity  of  his  father.  From  a  scarab  which  was 
found  in  the  temple  of  Osiris  at  Abydos,1  we  learn 


that  his  mother  was  called  Merit-Ra 


In  the  inscription  on  the  red 


granite  lion  in  the  Southern  Egyptian  Gallery  in 
the  British  Museum  (No.  431),  he  says  that  he 
“  restored  the  monuments  of  his  father,  King  of 
the  South  and  North,  Lord  of  the  Two  Lands, 
Nebmaatra,  the  emanation  of  Ra,  the  son  of 
Ra,  Amenhetep  (III),  Governor  of  Thebes.”  It 
is  possible  that  Tutankhamen  was  the  son  of 
Amenhetep  III  by  one  of  his  concubines,  and  that 
when  he  calls  this  king  his  father  the  statement  is 
literally  true,  but  there  is  no  proof  of  it.  On 
the  other  hand,  Tutankhamen  may  have  used 
the  word  “  father  ”  simply  as  a  synonym  of 
“  predecessor.”  The  older  Egyptologists  accepted 
the  statement  made  by  him  on  the  lion  that  he 
dedicated  to  the  Temple  of  Sulb  in  Nubia  as 
true,  but  some  of  the  more  recent  writers  reject 
it.  The  truth  is  that  the  name  of  Tutankhamen's 
father  is  unknown.  He  became  king  of  Egypt  by 

1  See  Mariette,  Abydos ,  Paris,  1880,  tom.  II,  pi.  40N. 


A 


2  TUTANKHAMEN 


virtue  of  his  marriage  with  princess  AnkhseN- 

/~\  /WWW 

paaten,  the  third  daughter  of  Amenhetep  IV,  y  ^ 

[  MAMA  Jh  ,l 2  at  least  that  is  what  it  is  natural 

/WWW  [/m  1  O  ul 

to  suppose,  but  it  is  possible  that  he  got  rid 
of  his  immediate  predecessor,  Smenkhkara,  or 
Seaakara,  who  married  the  princess  Meritaten, 

or  Atenmerit,  (j  "^w  ( (j  o  ^ ,  the  eldest 

daughter  of  Amenhetep  IV,  and  usurped  his 
throne. 

When  Tutankhamen  ascended  the  throne  he 
was,  or  at  all  events  he  professed  to  be,  an 
adherent  of  the  cult  of  Aten,  or  the  “  Solar 
Disk/'  and  to  hold  the  religious  views  of  his  wife 
and  his  father-in-law.  Proof  of  this  is  pro¬ 
vided  by  the  fragment  of  a  calcareous  stone 
stele  preserved  at  Berlin  (No.  14197),  on  which 
he  is  described  as  “  Lord  of  the  Two  Lands, 
Rakheperuneb,  Lord  of  the  Crowns,  Tutankhaten 


/WVWA 

o 


,  to  whom  life  is  given  for  ever. 


>>9, 


He  did  not  at  once  sever  his  connection  with  the  cult 
of  Aten,  for  he  started  work  on  a  temple,  or  some 
other  building,  of  Aten  at  Thebes.  This  is  certain 
from  the  fact  that  several  of  the  blocks  of  stone 
which  Heremheb,  one  of  his  immediate  successors, 
used  in  his  buildings  bear  Tutankhamen's  name. 
It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  extent  of  Tutankh¬ 
amen's  building  operations,  for  this  same  Herem¬ 
heb  claimed  much  of  his  work  as  his  own,  and 
cut  out  wherever  possible  Tutankhamen’s  name 
and  inserted  his  own  in  its  place.  He  went  so 
far  as  to  usurp  the  famous  stele  of  Tutankhamen 


1  This  name  means  “  Her  life  is  of  Aten  ”  (i.e.,  of  the  Solar 
Disk). 

2  See  Aegyptische  Zeitschrift,  Bd.  38,  1900,  pp.  112-114. 


THE  REIGN  OF  TUTANKHAMEN  3 

that  Legrain  discovered  at  Karnak  in  1905 -1 
From  this  stele  we  learn  that  the  “  strong  names  ” 
and  official  titles  which  Tutankhamen  adopted 
were  as  follows  : — 

1.  Horus  name.  Ka-nekht-tut-mes 


2.  Nebti  name.  Nefer-hepu-s-gerh  taui. 


3.  Golden  Horus  name.  Renp-khau-s-hetep- 


NETERU 


4.  Nesu  bat  name.  Neb-kheperu-Ra 


5.  Son  of  Ra  name.  TutankhAmen 


In  some  cases  the  cartouche  of  the  nomen 


contains 


which  mean  “  governor 


of  Anu  of  the  South  ”  (i.e.,  Hermonthis).  When 
Tutankhaten  ascended  the  throne  he  changed 
his  name  to  Tutankhamen,  i.e.,  “  Living  image  of 
Amen/' 

Our  chief  authority  for  the  acts  of  Tutankhamen 
is  the  stele  in  Cairo  already  referred  to,  and  from 
the  text,  which  unfortunately  is  mutilated  in 
several  places,  we  can  gain  a  very  good  idea  of  the 

1  See  Annales  du  Service ,  Vol.  V,  1905,  p.  192 ;  Recueil  de 
Travaux,  Vol.  XXIX,  1907,  pp.  162-173. 


A  2 


TUTANKHAMEN 


4 


state  of  confusion  that  prevailed  in  Egypt  when 
he  ascended  the  throne.  The  hieroglyphs  giving 
the  year  in  which  the  stele  was  dated  are  broken 
away.  The  first  lines  give  the  names  and  titles 
of  the  king,  who  says  that  he  was  beloved  of 
Amen-Ra,  the  great  god  of  Thebes,  of  Temu  and 
Ra-Heraakhuti,  gods  of  Anu  (Heliopolis),  Ptah 
of  Memphis,  and  Thoth,  the  Lord  of  the  “  words 
of  god  "  ( i.e .,  hieroglyphs  and  the  sacred  writings). 
He  calls  himself  the  “  good  son  of  Amen,  born  of 
Kamutef,”  and  says  that  he  sprang  from  a  glorious 
seed  and  a  holy  egg,  and  that  the  god  Amen 
himself  had  begotten  him.  Amen  built  his  body, 
and  fashioned  him,  and  perfected  his  form,  and  the 
Divine  Souls  of  Anu  were  with  him  from  his  youth 
up,  for  they  had  decreed  that  he  was  to  be  an  eternal 
king,  and  an  established  Horus,  who  would  devote 
all  his  care  and  energies  to  the  service  of  the 
gods  who  were  his  fathers. 

These  statements  are  of  great  interest,  for 
when  understood  as  the  king  meant  them  to  be 
understood,  they  show  that  his  accession  to  the 
throne  of  Egypt  was  approved  of  by  the  priest¬ 
hoods  of  Heliopolis,  Memphis,  Hermopolis  and 
Thebes.  Whatever  sympathy  he  may  have  pos¬ 
sessed  for  the  Cult  of  Aten  during  the  lifetime  of 
Amenhetep  IV  had  entirely  disappeared  when  he 
set  up  his  great  stele  at  Karnak,  and  it  is  quite 
clear  that  he  was  then  doing  his  utmost  to  fulfil  the 
expectations  of  the  great  ancient  priesthoods  of 

Egypt- 

The  text  continues :  He  made  to  flourish 
again  the  monuments  which  had  existed  for 
centuries,  but  which  had  fallen  into  ruin  [during 
the  reign  of  Aakhunaten].  He  put  an  end 


to  rebellion  and  disaffection  (  1  ^  .  Truth 

i  ^ 

marched  through  the  Two  Lands  [which  he 


THE  REIGN  OF  TUTANKHAMEN  5 

established  firmly].  When  His  Majesty  became 
King  of  the  South  the  whole  country  was  in  a 
state  of  chaos,  similar  to  that  in  which  it  had  been 
in  primeval  times  ( i.e .,  at  the  Creation).  From 
Abu  (Elephantine)  to  the  Swamps  [of  the  Delta' 
the  properties  of  the  temples  of  the  gods  anc. 
goddesses  had  been  [destroyed],  their  shrines  were 
in  a  state  of  ruin  and  their  estates  had  become  a 
desert.  Weeds  grew  in  the  courts  of  the  temples. 
The  sanctuaries  were  overthrown  and  the  sacred 
sites  had  become  thoroughfares  for  the  people. 
The  land  had  perished,  the  gods  were  sick  unto 
death,  and  the  country  was  set  behind  their 
backs. 

The  state  of  general  ruin  throughout  the  country 
was,  of  course,  largely  due  to  the  fact  that  the 
treasuries  of  the  great  gods  received  no  income 
or  tribute  on  any  great  scale  from  the  vassal 
tribes  of  Palestine  and  Syria.  It  is  easy  to  under¬ 
stand  that  the  temple  buildings  would  fall  into 
ruin,  and  the  fields  go  out  of  cultivation  when  once 
the  power  of  the  central  authority  was  broken. 
Tutankhamen  next  says  that  if  an  envoy  were 

sent  to  Tchah  |  H3  'j  cyy]  (Syria)  to  broaden  the 

frontiers  of  Egypt,  <=>  f®’ 

his  mission  did  not  prosper  ;  in  other  words,  the 
collectors  of  tribute  returned  empty-handed  be¬ 
cause  the  tribes  would  not  pay  it.  And  it  was 
useless  to  appeal  to  any  god  or  any  goddess,  for 
there  was  no  reply  made  to  the  entreaties  of 
petitioners.  The  hearts  of  the  gods  were  dis¬ 
gusted  with  the  people,  and  they  destroyed  the 
creatures  that  they  had  made.  But  the  days 
wherein  such  things  were  passed  by,  and  at 
length  His  Majesty  ascended  the  throne  of  his 
father,  and  began  to  regulate  and  govern  the 


TUTANKHAMEN 


lands  of  Horus,  i.e .,  the  temple-towns  and  their 
estates.  Egypt  and  the  Red  Land  {i.e.,  Desert) 
came  under  his  supervision,  and  every  land 
greeted  his  will  with  bowings  of  submission. 

The  text  goes  on  to  say  that  His  Majesty  was 
living  in  the  Great  House  which  was  in  Per- 
Aakheperkara.  This  palace  was  probably  situated 
either  in  a  suburb  of  Memphis  or  in  some  district 
at  no  great  distance  from  that  city.  (Some  think 
that  it  was  in  or  quite  near  Thebes.)  Here  “  he 
reigned  like  Ra  in  heaven/’  and  he  devoted  him¬ 
self  to  the  carrying  out  of  the  “  plan  of  this  land.” 
He  pondered  deeply  in  his  mind  on  his  courses 
of  action,  and  communed  with  his  own  heart 
how  to  do  the  things  that  would  be  acceptable 
to  the  people.  It  was  to  be  expected  that, 
when  once  he  had  discarded  Aten  and  all  his  works, 
he  would  have  gone  and  taken  up  his  abode  in 
Thebes,  and  entered  into  direct  negotiations  with 
the  priests  of  Amen.  In  other  words,  Tutankh¬ 
amen  was  not  certain  as  to  the  kind  of  reception 
he  would  meet  with  at  Thebes,  and  therefore  he 
went  northwards,  and  lived  in  or  near  Memphis. 
Whilst  here  “  he  sought  after  the  welfare  of 
father  Amen,”  and  he  cast  a  figure  of  his  “  august 


emanation, 


ft 


0 


K-s 


0\ 


in  gold,  or 


silver-gold.  Moreover,  he  did  more  than  had 
ever  been  done  before  to  enhance  the  power  and 
splendour  of  Amen.  The  text  unfortunately  gives 
no  description  of  the  figure  of  Amen  which  he 
made  in  gold,  but  a  very  good  idea  of  what  it  was 
like  may  be  gained  from  the  magnificent  solid  gold 
figure  of  the  god  that  is  in  the  Carnarvon  Collec¬ 
tion  at  Highclere  Castle,  and  was  exhibited  at  the 
Burlington  Fine  Arts  Club  in  1922.  A  handsome 
silver  figure  of  Amen-Ra,  plated  with  gold,  is 
exhibited  in  the  British  Museum  (Fifth  Egyptian 


THE  REIGN  OF  TUTANKHAMEN  7 

Room,  Table-case  I,  No.  42).  This  must  have 
come  from  a  shrine  of  the  god.  He  next  fashioned 
a  figure  of  "  Father  Amen”  on  thirteen  staves, 
a  portion  of  which  was  decorated  with  gold  tcham 
(i.e.,  gold  or  silver-gold),  lapis  laztfli  and  all 
kinds  of  valuable  stones ;  formerly  the  figure  of 
Amen  only  possessed  eleven  (?)  staves.  He  also 
made  a  figure  of  Ptah,  south  of  his  wall,  the 
Lord  of  Life,  and  a  portion  of  this  likewise  was 
decorated  with  gold  or  silver-gold,  lapis  lazuli,  tur¬ 
quoises  and  all  kinds  of  valuable  gems.  The  figure 
of  Ptah,  which  originally  stood  in  the  shrine  in 
Memphis,  only  possessed  six  (?)  staves.  Besides  this, 
Tutankhamen  built  monuments  to  all  the  gods,  and 

he  made  the  sacred  images,  ^  ^  j ,  of 

them  of  real  tcham  metal,  which  was  the  best 
produced.  He  built  their  sanctuaries  anew,  taking 
care  to  have  durable  work  devoted  to  their  con¬ 
struction  ;  he  established  a  system  of  divine 
offerings,  and  made  arrangements  for  the  main¬ 
tenance  of  the  same.  His  endowments  provided 
for  a  daily  supply  of  offerings  to  all  the  temples, 
and  on  a  far  more  generous  scale  than  was  originally 
contemplated. 

He  introduced  or  appointed  liba- 

tioners  and  ministrants  of  the  gods,  whom  he 
chose  from  among  the  sons  of  the  principal  men  in 
their  villages,  who  were  known  to  be  of  good 
reputation,  and  provided  for  their  increased  sti¬ 
pends  by  making  gifts  to  their  temples  of  immense 
quantities  of  gold,  silver,  bronze  and  other  metals. 
He  filled  the  temples  with  servants,  male  and 
female,  and  with  gifts  which  had  formed  part 
of  the  booty  captured  by  him.  In  addition  to 
the  presents  which  he  gave  to  the  priests  and 
servants  of  the  temples,  he  increased  the  revenues 


8  TUTANKHAMEN 

of  the  temples,  some  twofold,  some  threefold 
and  others  fourfold,  by  means  of  additional  gifts 
of  tcham  metal,  gold,  lapis  lazuli,  turquoises, 
precious  stones  of  all  kinds,  royal  cloth  of  byssus, 
flax-linen,  oil,  unguents,  perfumes,  incense,  dhmit 

(J  □  j  and  myrrh.  Gifts  of  "  all  beautiful 

things  ”  were  given  lavishly  by  the  king.  Having 
re-endowed  the  temples,  and  made  provision  for 
the  daily  offerings  and  for  the  performance  of 
services  which  were  performed  every  day  for  the 
benefit  of  the  king,  that  is  to  say,  himself,  Tutankh¬ 
amen  made  provision  for  the  festal  processions  on 
the  river  and  on  the  sacred  lakes  of  the  temples. 
He  collected  men  who  were  skilful  in  boat-building, 
and  made  them  to  build  boats  of  new  acacia  wood 
of  the  very  best  quality  that  could  be  obtained  in 

/www 

the  country  of  Negau  ffi  Many 

parts  of  the  boats  were  plated  with  gold,  and  their 
effulgence  lighted  up  the  river. 

The  information  contained  in  the  last  two 
paragraphs  enables  us  to  understand  the  extent 
of  the  ruin  that  had  fallen  upon  the  old  religious 
institutions  of  the  country  through  the  acts  of 
Aakhunaten.  The  temple  walls  were  mutilated 
by  the  Atenites,  the  priesthoods  were  driven  out, 
and  all  temple  properties  were  confiscated  and 
applied  to  the  propagation  of  the  cult  of  Aten. 
The  figures  of  the  great  gods  that  were  made  of 
gold  and  other  precious  metals  in  the  shrines 
were  melted  down,  and  thus  the  people  could  not 
consult  their  gods  in  their  need,  for  the  gods  had 
no  figures  wherein  to  dwell,  even  if  they  wished  to 
come  upon  the  earth.  There  were  no  priests 
left  in  the  land,  no  gods  to  entreat,  no  funeral 
ceremonies  could  be  performed,  and  the  dead 
had  to  be  laid  in  their  tombs  without  the  blessing 
of  the  priests. 


THE  REIGN  OF  TUTANKHAMEN 


During  this  period  of  religious  chaos,  which 
obtained  throughout  the  country,  a  number  of 
slaves,  both  male  and  female,  and  singing  men, 

shemaiu,  and  men  of  the  acrobat 

class,  ®  J  ^  °  a  sS  !  ’  had  been  employed 

by  the  Atenite  king  to  assist  in  the  performance  of 
his  religious  services,  and  at  festivals  celebrated 
in  honour  of  Aten.  These  Tutankhamen  “  puri¬ 
fied  ”  and  transferred  to  the  royal  palace,  where 
they  performed  the  duties  of  servants  of  some 
kind  in  connection  with  the  services  of  all  the 
“  father-gods."  This  treatment  by  the  king  was 
regarded  by  them  as  an  act  of  grace,  and  they  were 
exceedingly  content  with  their  new  positions.  The 
concluding  lines  of  the  stele  tell  us  little  more  than 
that  the  gods  and  goddesses  of  Egypt  rejoiced 
once  more  in  beholding  the  performance  of  their 
services,  that  the  old  order  of  worship  was  re¬ 
established,  and  that  all  the  people  of  Egypt 
thanked  the  king  for  his  beneficent  acts  from  the 
bottom  of  their  hearts.  The  gods  gave  the  king  life 
and  serenity,  and  by  the  help  of  Ra,  Ptah  and 
Thoth  he  administered  his  country  with  wisdom, 
and  gave  righteous  judgments  daily  to  all  the 
people. 

In  line  18  on  the  Stele  of  Tutankhamen  it 
is  stated  that  the  gifts  made  by  the  king  to  the 
priests  and  temples  were  part  of  the  booty  which 
His  Majesty  had  captured  from  conquered  peoples 


h 


WWW 

in 

that  even 


V  f 


A  *= 


^  n  ^  This  suggests 

during  his  short  reign  of  from 
eight  to  ten  years  he  managed  to  make  raids 
— they  cannot  be  called  wars — in  the  countries 
which  his  predecessors  had  conquered  and 
made  dependencies  of  Egypt.  The  truth  of  his 


10 


TUTANKHAMEN 


statement  is  fully  proved  by  the  pictures  and 


inscriptions  found  in  the  tomb  of  Hui 


JWL 


in  Western  Thebes.  This  officer  served  in  Nubia 
under  Amenhetep  IV,  and  as  a  reward  for  his 
fidelity  and  success  the  king  made  him  Prince 
of  Kesh  (Nubia),  and  gave  him  full  authority 
to  rule  from  Nekhen,  the  modern  Al-kab,  about 

50  miles  south  of  Thebes,  to  Nest-Taui  0  Z5  ffi  '  '  1 

or  Napata  (Jabal  Barkal),  at  the  foot  of  the 
Fourth  Cataract.  During  the  reign  of  Tutankh¬ 
amen  Hui  returned  from  Nubia  to  Thebes, 
bringing  with  him  large  quantities  of  gold,  both 
in  the  form  of  rings  and  dust,  vessels  of  gold  and 
silver,  bags  full  of  precious  stones,  Sudani  beds, 
couches,  chairs  of  state,  shields  and  a  chariot.2 
With  these  precious  objects  came  the  shekh 
of  Maam,  the  shekh  of  Uait,  the  sons  of  all  the 
principal  chiefs  on  both  sides  of  the  river  from 
Buhen  (Wadi  Half  ah)  to  Elephantine,  and  a 
considerable  number  of  slaves.  Hui  and  his 
party  arrived  in  six  boats,  and  when  all  the  gifts 
were  unloaded  they  were  handed  over  to  Tutankh¬ 
amen’s  officials,  who  had  gone  to  receive  them. 
It  is  not  easy  to  decide  whether  this  presentation 
of  the  produce  of  Nubia  by  Hui  was  an  official 
delivery  of  tribute  due  to  Tutankhamen,  or  a 
personal  offering  to  the  new  king  of  Egypt.  If 
Hui  was  appointed  Viceroy  of  Kesh  by  Amen¬ 
hetep  IV  or  his  father,  it  is  possible  that  he  was 
an  adherent  of  the  cult  of  Aten.  In  this  case,  his 
gifts  to  Tutankhamen  were  probably  personal, 
and  were  offered  to  him  by  Hui  with  the  set 


1  This  is  a  name  of  Thebes,  but  it  was  also  applied  to  the 
town  of  Napata,  where  the  great  temple  of  Amen-Ra  of  Nubia 
was  situated. 

2  See  the  drawing  published  by  Lepsius,  Denkmdler  III, 
pi.  116-118. 


<  • 


f: 


_ 


Ilui  presenting  tribute  and  gifts  from  vassal  peoples  to  Tutankhamen.  From  Lepsius,  Denkmiiler  III,  117. 


THE  REIGN  OF  TUTANKHAMEN  n 

purpose  of  placating  the  restorer  of  the  cult  of 
Amen.  Be  this  as  it  may,  the  gold  and  silver  and 
precious  stones  from  Nubia  were  most  acceptable 
to  the  king,  for  they  supplied  him  with  means  for 
the  re-endowment  of  the  priests  and  the  temples. 

Egyptologists,  generally,  have  agreed  that  the 
scenes  in  Hubs  tomb  representing  the  presentation 
of  gifts  from  Nubia  have  a  historical  character,  and 
that  we  may  consider  that  Tutankhamen  really 
exercised  rule  in  Nubia.  But  there  are  also 
painted  on  the  walls  scenes  in  which  the  chiefs 

and  nobles  of  Upper  Retennu  <=E±>  O  % 

AA/WVA  -JT  /Ci 

(Syria)  are  presenting  the  same  kinds  of  gifts 
to  Tutankhamen,  and  these  cannot  be  so  easily 
accepted  as  being  historical  in  character.  In  his 
great  inscription,  Tutankhamen  says  explicitly  that 
during  the  reign  of  Aakhunaten  it  was  useless  to 
send  missions  to  Syria  to  “  enlarge  the  frontiers 
of  Egypt/'  for  they  never  succeeded  in  doing  so. 
But  he  does  not  say  that  he  himself  did  not  send 
missions,  i.e.,  make  raids,  into  some  parts  of 
Phoenicia  and  Syria,  and  it  is  possible  that  he 
did.  It  is  also  possible  that  some  of  the  Syrian 
chiefs,  hearing  of  the  accession  of  a  king  who  was 
following  the  example  of  Thothmes  III  and 
honouring  Amen,  sent  gifts  to  him  with  the  view 
of  obtaining  the  support  of  Egyptian  arms  against 
their  foes. 

Exactly  when  and  how  Tutankhamen  died  is 
not  known,  and  his  age  at  the  time  of  his  death 
cannot  be  stated.  No  tomb  of  his  has  been  found 
in  the  mountains  of  Tall  al-'Amarnah,  and,  up  to 
the  present,  there  is  no  evidence  that  he  had  a 
tomb  specially  hewn  for  him  in  the  Valley  of  the 
Tombs  of  the  Kings.  During  the  course  of  his 
excavations  in  this  Valley,  Mr.  Theodore  Davis 
found  a  tomb  which  he  believed  to  be  that  of 


TUTANKHAMEN 


Tutankhamen.1 2  In  it  there  was  a  broken  box 
containing  several  pieces  of  gold  leaf  stamped 
with  the  names  of  Tutankhamen  and  his  wife 
Ankhsenamen,  etc.  In  a  pit  some  distance  from  this 
tomb  he  discovered  what  he  took  to  be  the  debris 
from  a  tomb,  such  as  dried  wreaths  of  leaves  and 
flowers.  The  cover  of  a  very  large  jar,  which 
had  been  broken,  was  wrapped  up  in  a  cloth  on 
which  was  inscribed  the  name  of  Tutankhamen. 
One  of  the  most  beautiful  objects  found  by  Davis 
was  the  little  blue  glazed  funerary  vase  which 
is  figured  on  plate  XCII  of  his  book.  It  was 
discovered  in  a  sort  of  hiding  place  under  a  large 
rock,  and  bears  the  inscription  "Beautiful  god, 

Neb-kheperu  Ra,  giver  of  life  ”  J  o  j  V37  J 
^  These  facts  certainly  suggest  that  Davis 


found  a  tomb  of  Tutankhamen. 

The  objects  in  the  British  Museum  that  bear 
the  name  of  Tutankhamen  are  few,  the  largest 
and  most  important  being  the  granite  lion  which 
he  placed  in  the  temple  built  by  Amenhetep  III 
at  Sulb  (the  “  Soleb  ”  of  Lepsius),  about  half-way 
up  the  Third  Cataract  on  the  left  or  west  bank. 
Several  scarabs3  and  a  bead  bearing  his  prenomen 
or  nomen  are  exhibited  in  Table-Case  B.  (Fourth 
Egyptian  Room),  and  also  the  fragment  of  a 
model  of  a  boomerang  in  blue  glazed  faience  in 
Wall-Case  225  (Fifth  Egyptian  Room),  No.  54822. 
Two  fine  porcelain  tubes  for  stibium,  or  eye-paint, 
are  exhibited  in  Wall-Case  272  (Sixth  Egyptian 
Room).  The  one  (No.  27376)  has  a  dark  bluish 
green  colour  and  is  inscribed  "  Beautiful  god, 
Lord  of  the  Two  Lands,  Lord  of  Crowns,  Neb- 


1  See  Davis-Maspero-Daressy,  The  Tombs  of  Harmhabi 
and  Touat-ankhamanou,  London,  1912. 

2  See  Hall,  H.  R.,  Catalogue  of  Egyptian  Scarabs,  London, 

1913,  Nos.  1968-1972,  pp.  197,  198. 


To  face  p.  12. 


Plate  II. 


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THE  REIGN  OF  TUTANKHAMEN  13 


kheperu-Ra,  giver  of  life  for  ever  ”  ^  ^  ^7 

rj  ^  ^  ;  and  the  other 


(No.  2573),  which  is  white  in  colour,  is  inscribed 
with  the  names  of  his  wife  and  himself 


c 


O 


3 


f  n  0  p 

l  Ch  \  aaaaaa  1 


II 

• 

_ _  . 

A  writing  palette  bearing  the  king’s  prenomen1 
was  found  at  Kurnah  during  the  time  of  the 
French  Expedition,  and  this  and  the  other  objects 
mentioned  above  suggest  that  the  royal  tomb 
was  being  plundered  during  the  early  years  of  the 
XIXth  century. 

An  interesting  mention  is  made  of  Tutankh¬ 
amen  in  one  of  the  tablets  from  Boghaz  Keui, 
and  it  suggests  that  communications  passed  more 
or  less  frequently  between  the  kings  of  the  Hittites 
at  that  period  and  the  kings  of  Egypt.  The 
document  is  written  in  cuneiform  characters2  in 
the  Hittite  language,  and  states  that  the  Queen 
of  Egypt,  called  Da-kha-mu-un  £?TT  ??< 
wrote  to  the  father  of  the  reigning  Hittite 
king  to  tell  him  that  her  husband  Bi-ib-khu-ru- 
ri-ya-ash  T  ^  HI  HT  iffl  ^Tli  -£Tr  ^  was  dead, 
and  that  she  had  no  son,  and  that  she 
wanted  one,  and  she  asked  him  to  send  to  her 
one  of  his  many  sons,  and  him  she  would  make 
her  husband.3  Now  Bibkhururiyaash  is  nothing 
more  nor  less  than  a  transcription  of  N  eb-kheperu- 
Ra,  the  prenomen  of  king  Tutankhamen. 


This  is  the  legend  as  printed 

in  Champollion,  Monuments,  tom.  II,  pi.  CXCI  bis  No.  2. 

2  For  the  text  see  Keilschrift  aus  Boghazkoi,  Heft  V,  No.  6. 
Rev.  Ill,  11.  7-13. 

3  See  Dr.  F.  Hrosny,  Die  Losung  des  Hethitischen  Problems , 
in  the  Mitteilungen  dev  Deutschen  Orient-Gesellschaft,  Decem¬ 
ber,  1915,  No.  56,  p.  36. 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  THE  CULT 

OF  AMEN. 


The  early  history  of  the  god  Amen  is  somewhat 
obscure,  and  his  origin  is  unknown.  The  name 

Amen  I]  means  “  hidden  (one),”  a  title 

I  /WWW 

which  might  be  applied  to  many  gods.  A  god 


Amen-Ra,  King  of  the  Gods, 
Great  Lord  of  Thebes. 


The  goddess  Amenit,  a  female 
counterpart  of  Amen,  dweller  in 
the  Northern  Apt  (Karnak). 


Amen  and  his  consort  Ament  or  Amenit  are 
mentioned  in  the  Pyramid  Texts  (Unas,  line  558), 
where  they  are  grouped  with  Nau  and  Nen,  and 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  15 

with  the  two  Lion  gods  Shu  and  Tefnut.  This 
Amen  was  regarded  as  an  ancient  nature-god 
by  the  priests  of  Heliopolis  under  the  Vth  dynasty, 
and  it  is  possible  that  many  of  his  attributes 
were  transferred  at  a  very  early  period  to  Amen, 
the  great  god  of  Thebes.  Though  recent  excava¬ 
tions  have  shown  that  a  cult  of  Amen  existed  at 
Thebes  under  the  Ancient  Empire,  it  is  doubtful 
if  it  possessed  any  more  than  a  local  importance 
until  the  Xllth  dynasty.  When  the  princes 
of  Thebes  conquered  their  rivals  in  the  north 
and  obtained  the  sovereignty  of  Egypt,  their 
god  Amen  and  his  priesthood  became  a  great 
power  in  the  land,  and  an  entirely  new  temple 
was  built  by  them,  in  his  honour,  at  Karnak  on 
the  right  bank  of  the  Nile.  The  temple  was 
quite  small,  and  resembled  in  form  and  arrange¬ 
ment  some  of  the  small  Nubian  temples ;  it 
consisted  of  a  shrine,  with  a  few  small  chambers 
grouped  about  it,  and  a  forecourt,  with  a 
colonnade  on  two  sides  of  it.  Amen  was  not 
the  oldest  god  worshipped  there,  and  his  sanctuary 
seems  to  have  absorbed  the  shrine  of  the  ancient 
goddess  Apit.  The  name  of  Thebes  is  derived 
from  T-Ape,  the  Coptic  name  of  the  shrine  of 
the  goddess  Apit,  and  the  city  was  not  known  as 

Nut  Amen  &  (j  ^  (the  No  Amon  of  the 

Bible,  Nahum  3,  8),  i.e.,  the  “  city  of  Amen/’  until 
a  very  much  later  date. 

Although  the  kings  of  the  Xllth  dynasty 
were  Thebans  it  is  possible  that  they  and  many 
of  their  finest  warriors  had  Sudani  blood  in  their 
veins,  and  the  attributes  that  they  ascribed  to 
Amen  were  similar  to  those  that  the  Nubian 
peoples  assigned  to  their  indigenous  gods.  To 
them  Amen  symbolized  the  hidden  but  irresistible 
power  that  produces  conception  and  growth  in 


i6 


TUTANKHAMEN 


human  beings  and  in  the  animal  and  vegetable 
worlds.  And  in  some  places  in  Egypt,  and  Nubia 
and  the  Oases,  the  symbol  of  the  god  Amen  was 
either  the  umbilicus1 2  or  the  gravid  womb.  The 
symbol  of  Amen  that  was  shown  to  Alexander  the 
Great,  when  he  visited  the  temple  of  Jupiter 
Ammon  in  the  Oasis  of  Siwah,  was  an  object 
closely  resembling  the  umbilicus,  and  it  was 
inlaid  with  emeralds  (turquoises  ?)  and  other 
precious  stones — umbilico  maxime  similis  est 
habitus,  smaragdo  et  gemmis  coagmentatus.3  The 
name  of  Amen  was  carried  into  Nubia  and  the 
Egyptian  Sudan  by  the  kings  of  the  Xllth 
dynasty  when  they  made  raids  into  those  countries, 
and  his  worship  took  root  there  readily  and 
flourished.  The  booty  which  was  brought  back 
to  Thebes  was  shared  by  them  with  Amen,  and 
many  captives  and  slaves  were  set  apart  as  the 
property  of  the  god.  Soon  Amen  gained  the 
reputation  of  the  god  of  successful  warriors,  and 
his  fame  grew  and  spread  abroad,  and  little  by 
little  the  attributes  and  powers  of  the  older  gods 
of  Heliopolis,  Memphis  and  Abydos  were  united 
to  his  own  in  the  minds  of  his  priests  and  followers. 

Under  the  rule  of  the  kings  of  the  XVIIIth 
dynasty  the  glory  and  power  of  Amen  waxed 
greater  and  greater,  and  his  fame  spread  through 
the  Eastern  Desert  and  Syria.  As  he  gave  victory 
to  the  kings  of  the  Xllth  dynasty  in  Nubia,  so 
he  now  gave  undreamed  of  success  to  Egyptian 
arms  in  Western  Asia  ;  and  the  Pharaohs  returned 
to  Thebes  laden  with  spoil  of  every  kind  and  with 
rich  gifts  from  the  non-combatant  peoples  in 

1  See  Daressy,  Une  Nouvelle  Forme  d’Amon  in  Annales 
du  Service  des  Antiquites  de  VEgypte ,  tome  IX,  p.  64  ff. 

2  Quintus  Curtius,  lib.  IV,  §7.  See  also  Naville,  Le  Dieu 
de  V Oasis  de  Jupiter- Amon  in  Comptes  Rendus  de  V Academic, 

1906,  p.  25. 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  17 

Phoenicia  and  Syria.  And  Amen  might  well  be 
declared  to  be  the  “  god  of  the  world/'  especially 
during  the  reign  of  Thothmes  III.  Never  before 
had  such  wealth  flowed  into  the  treasury  of  the 
temple  of  Amen,  or  Amen-Ra,  as  he  began  to  be 
called,  and  never  before  had  the  power  of  his 
priests  been  so  great.  Amenhetep  I,  the  second 
king  of  the  dynasty,  had  been  a  strong  supporter 
of  the  cult  of  Amen,  and  he  seems  to  have  been 
the  founder  of  the  order  of  the  priests  of  Amen, 
and  certainly  endowed  the  temple  in  the  Northern 
Apt  with  great  wealth.  His  prenomen  and  nomen 
are  often  seen  occupying  prominent  places  on  the 
coffins  of  the  priests  of  Amen.  The  work  of 
establishing  the  order  begun  by  Amenhetep  I  was 
consolidated  and  extended  by  Thothmes  III,  who 
set  the  priesthood  in  order,  appointed  a  high  priest, 
and  provided  them  with  rich  revenues  and  gave 
them  large  estates  for  their  maintenance.  The 
gifts  that  the  temple  of  Amen  received  as  a  result 
of  the  seventeen  expeditions  made  by  Thothmes  III 
into  Phoenicia  and  Syria,  and  into  the  country  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  the  waters  of  the  Upper 
Euphrates,  and  the  share  of  the  tribute  received 
from  Cyprus  and  the  Sudan  must  have  been  well- 
nigh  incalculable.  The  treasury  of  Amen  was  so 
well  supplied  by  Thothmes  III,  and  the  affairs 
of  his  priesthood  so  well  regulated  by  him,  that 
his  two  immediate  successors,  Amenhetep  II  and 
Thothmes  IV,  were  not  called  upon  to  make 
extraordinary  raids  into  Western  Asia  for  the 
purpose  of  collecting  spoil. 

Amenhetep  II,  about  b.c.  1500,  devoted  his 
energies  to  the  conquest  of  the  southern  portion 
of  the  Egyptian  Sudan,  which  he  penetrated 
as  far  as  Wad  Ba-Nagaa,  a  district  lying  about 
80  miles  to  the  north  of  the  modern  city  of 
Khartum.  But  it  is  doubtful  if  he  possessed  any 

B 


18  TUTANKHAMEN 

effective  hold  on  the  Sudan  beyond  Napata 
(Jabal  Barkal),  at  the  foot  of  the  Fourth 
Cataract.  During  one  of  his  wars,  or  raids,  into 
Syria,  he  slew  a  rebel  chief  and  sent  his  body  to 
Napata  to  be  hung  upon  the  city  walls,  so  that 
the  natives  might  see  it  and  tremble.  We  may 
be  sure  that  the  priesthood  of  Amen  at  Thebes 
took  great  care  to  inform  their  colleagues  at 
Napata  that  it  was  their  god  Amen  who  had  given 
the  king  the  victory.  Amenhetep  II  was  a  loyal 
servant  of  Amen,  for  on  the  stele  which  he  set  up 
after  his  return  from  Upper  Rethennu  he  says  that 
he  came  back  “  with  a  heart  expanded  with  joy 
to  Father  Amen  because  he  had  overthrown  all 
his  enemies,  and  enlarged  the  frontiers  of  Egypt, 
and  had  slain  seven  chiefs  with  his  own  club  whilst 
they  were  living  in  Thekhsi,  and  had  hung  their 
bodies  up  head  downwards  on  the  bows  of  his 
boat  as  he  sailed  up  the  Nile  to  Thebes." 

Amenhetep  II  was  succeeded  about  b.c.  1450  by 
his  son  Thothmes  IV,  who  seems  to  have  owed  his 
accession  to  the  throne,  not  to  the  priests  of  Amen, 
but  to  the  priests  of  Heliopolis.  His  mother  was 
not  of  royal  rank,  and  it  is  probable  that  her 
religious  sympathies  were  with  the  old  solar  gods 
of  Heliopolis  rather  than  with  Amen,  or  Amen-Ra, 
of  Thebes.  On  a  huge  red  granite  stele,  which 
stands  between  the  paws  of  the  Sphinx  at  Gizah 
immediately  in  front  of  its  breast,  is  cut  an  impor¬ 
tant  inscription  which  throws  light  on  the  subject 
of  the  accession  to  the  throne  of  Thothmes  IV. 
According  to  the  text,  the  young  prince  Thothmes 
was  hunting  at  Gizah  and  sat  down  to  rest  himself 
under  the  shadow  of  the  Sphinx.  Whilst  there  he 
fell  asleep,  and  thef  ourfold  Sun-god,  Heraakhuti- 
Khepera-Ra-Tem,  appeared  to  him  in  a  dream 
and  promised  him  the  crowns  of  Egypt  if  he  would 
clear  away  from  the  Sphinx  and  his  temple  the 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  19 

desert  sand,  which  had  swallowed  them  up.  Now 
the  Sphinx  was  believed  to  be  the  image  and 
dwelling-place  of  Temu-Heraakhuti,  a  solar  god  in 
whom  were  united  the  attributes  and  powers  of 
Tern,  the  oldest  sun-god  of  Heliopolis,  and  Heraa- 
khuti,  a  still  older  sun-god.  Thothmes  did  as  the 
god  wished,  that  is  to  say,  as  the  priests  of  Helio¬ 
polis  wished,  and  by  so  doing  forwarded  their 


Heraakhuti,  Homs  of  the 

Two  Horizons,  the  Great  God.  Ra, 
the  mid-day  form  of  the  Sun-god, 
is  often  depicted  in  this  form. 


Temu,  Lord  of  the  Two  Lands, 
of  Anu  (On)  Great  God,  Governor 
of  the  Nine  Gods.  He  was  pro¬ 
bably  the  oldest  man-headed  god  in 
Egypt. 


political  aspirations  and  secured  their  assistance 
in  obtaining  the  throne.  During  his  short  reign 
of  about  nine  years  Thothmes  IV  made  raids  into 
Syria  and  the  Egyptian  Sudan,  and  the  temple  of 
Amen  no  doubt  obtained  a  share  in  the  spoil 
which  he  brought  back — in  fact,  an  inscription 
at  Karnak  contains  a  list  of  the  gifts  that  he 

B  2 


20 


TUTANKHAMEN 


made  to  Amen  on  his  return  from  a  very  successful 
raid.  We  may  note  in  passing  that  although  the 
name  of  Amen  forms  part  of  his  personal  name, 
his  Nebti  name  was  “  Stablished  in  sovereignty 


like  Tern.” 


The  opening  up  of  Western  Asia  by  the  victorious 
arms  of  Amasis  I  and  his  successors  was  followed 
by  a  great  increase  in  the  communications  that 
passed  between  Egypt  and  the  peoples  of  Syria, 
Mitanni,  Assyria  and  Babylonia.  The  trade  between 
these  countries  increased,  and  the  merchant  cara¬ 
vans  carried  not  only  the  wares  and  products  of 
one  country  into  the  other,  but  also  information 
about  the  manners  and  customs  and  religions  of  the 
various  peoples  with  whom  they  came  in  contact. 
Thothmes  IV  appears  to  have  been  the  first 
Egyptian  king  who  entered  into  friendly  relations 
with  the  kings  of  Karaduniyash  (Babylonia)  and 
Mitanni.  Tushratta,  king  of  Mitanni,  tells  us,  in 
a  letter1  which  he  sent  to  Amenhetep  IV,  that  the 
father  of  his  father,  Amenhetep  III,  sent  to  his 
grandfather,  Artatama,  and  asked  for  his  daughter 
to  wife  ;  in  other  words,  Thothmes  IV  wanted  to 
marry  a  princess  of  Mitanni.  Six  times  did 
Thothmes  IV  make  his  request  in  vain,  and  it  was 
only  after  the  seventh  asking  that  the  king  of 
Mitanni  gave  his  daughter  to  the  king  of  Egypt. 
As  Queen  of  Egypt  she  was  styled  “  Hereditary 
Princess,  Great  Lady,  President  of  the  South  and 
the  North,  Great  Royal  Mother, ^Mut-em-uaa.” 


The  princess  would  naturally  come  to  Egypt 
escorted  by  a  number  of  her  people,  and  it  is  very 
probable  that  she  and  her  followers  introduced  into 

1  Preserved  in  Berlin  ;  see  Winckler,  Die  Thontafeln  von 
T ell-el- Amarna ,  No.  24,  p.  51. 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  21 

Egypt  religious  views  that  were  more  in  harmony 
with  those  of  the  priests  of  Heliopolis  than  of  the 
votaries  of  Amen. 

Little  is  known  of  the  kingdom  of  Mitanni  and 
its  people.  There  is  one  letter  in  Berlin  written 
in  the  language  of  Mitanni,  and  the  Assyriologists 
who  have  made  a  special  study  of  it  assign  to 
the  language  a  place  among  the  “  Caspian  group/' 
and  are  inclined  to  compare  it  with  Georgian  ; 
and  they  give  it  an  Aryan  origin.1  The  names  of 
four  of  their  gods  are  mentioned  in  the  text  of  a 
Treaty  found  at  Boghaz  Keui,  and  the  Mitannians 
swore  by  them  to  observe  this  Treaty.2  These 
gods  are  : — 

1.  .4-  <-  BAT  &TT  -  <r-  S£*T! 

2.  tTTTs  iin  4-  -  <T-  i?s=TTT 

4.  H-  T—  ^  bTT  HK  *£TT  HF-  Jl' 3 

Omitting  the  determinatives,3  these  names  may 
be  transliterated  thus  : —  1,  Mi-it-ra-ash-shi-il. 
2,  U-ru-wa-na-ash-shi-il.  3,  In-tar.  4,  Na-sha-at- 
ti-ya-an-na.  And  their  identifications  with  the 
Indian  gods  Mitra  (Mithras),  Varuna,  Indra  and 
Nasatiya  seem  to  be  certain.  The  solar  and  celes¬ 
tial  character  of  these  Indian  gods  has  much  in 
common  with  that  of  the  solar  gods  of  Heliopolis, 
and  if  the  princess  of  Mitanni  who  married 
Thothmes  IV  carried  her  worship  of  them  into 
Egypt,  it  is  easy  to  believe  that  her  religious 
sympathy  and  support  would  be  eiven  to  Tern 
and  his  cognate  gods,  and  not  to  Amen.  With 
her  arrival  at  Thebes  there  came  an  influence 

1  Bork,  Die  Mitanni  Sprache,  Berlin,  1909. 

2  Keilschri/ttexte  aus  Boghazkoi.  Heft  I,  p.  7.  No.  1, 
1.  55. 

3  and  »->f-  are  determinatives  of  “  god  ”  and 
“  gods.” 


22 


TUTANKHAMEN 


which  was  hostile  to  Amen,  but  her  husband's 
reign  was  too  short  for  it  to  produce  any  great 
material  effect. 

Thothmes  IV  was  succeeded  by  his  son  by 
Queen  Mutemuaa,  who  ascended  the  throne  under 
the  name  of  Amenhetep  (III)  ;  thus  the  name  of 
the  god  Amen  once  again  formed  part  of  the 
personal  name  of  the  reigning  king.  The  meaning 
of  this  name,  “Amen  is  content,  or  satisfied,”  is 
significant.  He  reigned  for  about  thirty-six  years, 
probably  in  the  latter  half  of  the  fifteenth 
century  B.c.  A  legend1  was  current  in  Egypt  under 
the  Ancient  Empire  in  which  it  was  asserted  that 
the  god  Ra  came  to  earth  and,  assuming  the  form 
of  a  priest  of  Ra,  the  husband  of  one  Ruttet, 
appeared  to  his  wife  and,  companying  with  her, 
begot  three  sons,  each  of  whom  became  King  of 
all  Egypt.  From  that  time  every  king  prefixed 


to  his  personal  name  the  title  Sa  Ra, 


“  son  of  Ra.”  Nearly  two  thousand  years  later 

the  great  Queen  Hatshepsut  decorated  her  temple 

at  Der  al-Bahari  with  bas-reliefs,  on  which  were 

•  * 

sculptured  scenes  connected  with  her  conception 
and  birth.  In  these  the  god  Amen,  in  the  human 
form  of  her  father  Thothmes  I,  is  seen  companying 
with  Queen  Aahmes,  and  the  inscriptions  prove 
that  Hatshepsut  believed  that  she  was  of  the  god's 
seed  and  that  his  divine  blood  flowed  in  her  veins.3 
As  Amen  had  in  the  XVIIIth  dynasty  assumed 
all  the  powers  and  attributes  of  Ra  of  Heliopolis, 
the  father  of  the  kings  who  ruled  from  Memphis, 
it  was  only  fitting  that  he  should  assume  human 
form  and  become  the  physical  father  of  the  kings 
who  ruled  from  his  city  of  Thebes.  The  same 

1  See  Erman,  Die  Mdrchen  des  Papyrus  Westcar,  Berlin, 


1890. 


2  See  Naville’s  edition  of  the  texts,  Vol.  II,  pi.  46-55. 


Bas-relief  Representing  Amenjjetep  III  as  an  Incarnation  of  Amen-Ra. 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  23 


TUTANKHAMEN 


fiction  was  promulgated  by  the  priests  of  Amen 
in  respect  of  their  god  and  Amenhetep  III.  Accord¬ 
ing  to  the  bas-relief  in  the  sanctuary  of  the 
temple  which  he  built  in  the  Northern  Apt  in 
honour  of  Amen,  Mut  and  Khensu,  Amen  came 
to  Queen  Mutemuaa  in  the  human  form  of 
Thothmes  IV,  and  begot  by  her  the  son  who 
reigned  as  Amenhetep  III.  Both  scenes  and  texts 
were  copied  from  the  bas-reliefs  in  Hatshepsut’s 
temple,  which  in  turn  were  probably  copied  from 
some  popular  document  compiled  by  the  priests 
of  Amen  at  the  beginning  of  the  XVIIIth  dynasty, 
perhaps  with  special  reference  to  Amenhetep  I. 

Whatever  views  Amenhetep  III  held  concerning 
Amen  and  his  worship,  he  did  not  allow  them  to 
interfere  with  or  obstruct  his  public  allegiance  to 
that  god.  This  fact  is  proved  by  his  building 
operations  at  Luxor  and  the  gifts  which  he  made 
to  the  temples  and  priesthood  of  Amen  throughout 
the  country.  But  he  honoured  other  Egyptian 
gods  besides  Amen,  for  he  built  a  temple  at 
Elephantine  to  Khnemu,  a  very  ancient  god  of 
the  region  of  the  First  Cataract.  To  commemo¬ 
rate  his  victory  over  the  Nubians  in  the  fifth  year 
of  his  reign,  he  built  the  great  temple  called 


Het  Kha-em-Maat 


at  Sulb,  in  the 


Egyptian  Sudan.  He  dedicated  it  to  Father  Amen, 
Lord  of  the  Thrones  of  the  Two  Lands,  to  Khnemu 
and  to  "  his  own  Image  living  upon  earth,  Neb- 
maat-Ra.1'’  On  a  bas-relief  published  by  Lepsius3 
we  see  him  worshipping  himself,  as  Lord  of  Ta~ 
Kenset.  In  several  of  the  scenes  sculptured  on 
the  walls  he  is  represented  making  offerings  to 
Amen-Ra,  Khnemu  and  other  gods,  and  he  is 


1  Neb-maat-Ra  is  the  prenomen  of  Amenhetep  III. 
3  Denkmaler ,  III,  85. 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  25 


Khnem,  who  became  incarnate  Anqit,  the  female  counterpart  Sati,  daughter  of  Khnem  and 

in  a  species  of  ram.  of  Khnem.  Anqit. 

The  Triad  of  the  First  Cataract,  in  whose  honour  Amenhetep  III  built  a  temple  at  Elephantine. 


26  TUTANKHAMEN 

frequently  accompanied  by  his  wife  Ti.  At  Sad- 
denga  he  built  a  temple  to  Ti  as  the  goddess  of 
the  Sudan. 

In  Egypt,  at  all  events,  the  people  were  not 
prohibited  from  worshipping  the  old  gods  of 


Amenhetep  III  worshipping  himself  as  a  member  of  the  Triad  in  the 

Temple  of  Sulb. 

the  country,  and  that  his  own  high  officials  did 
so  openly  is  evident  from  the  grey  granite  stele 
of  the  architects  Her  and  Suti  in  the  British 
Museum.1  The  stele  is  in  the  form  of  the  door 
of  a  tomb  and  has  a  plain  cornice  and  a  raised 

1  No.  475,  Bay  9.  Old  No.  826.  See  A  Guide  to  the 
Egyptian  Galleries ,  p.  134. 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  27 


border.  In  the  upper  part  of  the  central  panel 
are  the  two  utchats,  or  eyes  of  the  Sun  and  Moon 


,  and  the  winged  disk,  and  below  these 


are  figures  of  Osiris  and  Anubis  ;  the  figures  of 
the  architects  and  their  wives  are  obliterated.  In 
the  inscriptions  above  the  panel  Her  beseeches  : 
1,  Hathor  of  Thebes,  the  mistress  of  the  goddesses, 


Hathor  of  Thebes,  who  was 
incarnate  in  the  forms  of  a  cow 
and  a  woman. 


Mut,  Lady  of  Asher,  a  female 
counterpart  of  Amen-Ra. 


to  grant  to  him  a  coming  forth  into  the  presence 
[of  the  god]  ;  2,  Khensu  to  give  him  all  good, 
sweet  and  pleasant  things  ;  and  3,  Hathor  of 
Thebes  to  receive  them  in  the  temples.  Suti 
beseeches  :  1,  Amen-Ra  to  give  him  sepulchral 
meals  in  Hermonthis  ;  2,  Mut  to  give  him  all 
good  things  ;  and  3,  Hathor  of  the  cemetery  to 
give  him  beautiful  life  and  pleasure  upon  earth. 


28  TUTANKHAMEN 

On  the  right-hand  side  of  the  panel  Her  be¬ 
seeches  :  i,  Ra-Heraakhuti,  lord  of  heaven,  to  let 
him  see  Aten  and  to  look  at  the  Moon  as  he  did 
upon  earth  ;  2,  Anpu  (Anubis)  to  give  him  a 
beautiful  funeral  after  old  age  and  a  burial  in  the 
western  part  of  Thebes  ;  and  3,  the  divine  Queen 
Nefertari  to  give  him  the  sweet  breath  of  the 
north  wind,  coolness  and  wine,  and  a  coming 
forth  into  the  presence  [of  the  God]. 

On  the  left-hand  side  of  the  panel  Suti  beseeches  : 
1,  Osiris,  Governor  of  eternity,  to  give  him  cakes 
and  offerings  in  the  presence  of  Un-Nefer ;  2, 
Seker,  lord  of  the  coffin  chamber,  to  let  him  go 
in  and  out  of  the  underworld,  without  obstruction 
to  his  soul,  at  pleasure  ;  and  3,  Isis,  the  mother 
of  the  god,  to  grant  him  power  to  move  freely 
about  in  the  Peqa  (at  Abydos)  under  a  decree  of 
the  great  god. 

Here,  then,  we  have  these  two  high  officials,  the 
one  overseer  of  the  works  in  the  temple  of  Karnak, 
and  the  other  overseer  of  the  works  in  the  temple 
of  Luxor,  men  of  learning  and  culture,  praying 
for  the  goodwill,  help  and  favour  of  Hathor  of 
the  city,  of  Hathor  of  the  cemetery,  of  Mut,  the 
consort  of  Amen,  of  Khensu,  son  of  Amen  and 
Mut,  of  the  old  Sun-god  Ra-Heraakhuti,  of 
Anpu,  god  of  the  tomb,  of  Nefertari,  the  deified 
Queen  of  Amasis  I,  of  Osiris,  god  and  judge  of 
the  dead,  of  Isis,  his  consort,  and  of  Seker,  the  old 
god  of  the  Underworld  of  Memphis.  Amen  is 
not  mentioned  with  these  old  gods,  into  whose 
hands  Her  and  Suti  were  content  to  commit  their 
souls  after  death.  But  Amen  was  the  great  god 
of  their  city,  and  to  him  they  owed  their  occupation 
and  daily  bread,  and  they  acknowledged  his  power 
in  the  hymn  which  they  caused  to  be  cut  on  the 
panel  of  their  funerary  stele.  The  importance  of 
this  hymn  is  considerable,  for  the  stele  is  dated,  in 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  29 

line  15,  by  the  mention  of  the  name  of  the  king  they 
served,  Amenhetep  III.  It  is  quite  short,  consisting 
of  less  than  eight  lines,  and  it  tells  us  little  about 
Amen.  The  opening  words  say  that  it  is  a  hymn 
to  Amen  when  he  rises  as  Heraakhuti ;  that  is 
to  say,  it  is  addressed  to  Amen  in  his  character  of 
a  solar  god.  It  might  equally  well  be  addressed 


Khensu,  a  Moon-god,  third 
member  of  the  great  Theban  Triad 
Amen-Ra,  Mut  and  Khensu. 


Anpu,  or  Anubis,  son  of  Set  and 
Nephthys. 


to  Ra  or  Horus  or  any  solar  god.  The  writer  calls 
the  god  a  “  daily  beauty  that  never  fails  to  rise/' 
and  identifies  him  with  Khepera,  an  ancient  god 
of  creation,  who  is  mighty  in  works.  His  rays 
which  strike  the  face  cannot  be  known  (or  esti¬ 
mated),  and  the  brilliantly  bright  and  shining 


3o  TUTANKHAMEN 

metal  called  tcham  cannot  be  compared  for  splen¬ 
dour  with  his  beautiful  appearance.  The  caps  on 
the  pyramidions  of  obelisks  were  made  of  tcham 
metal',  and  the  brightness  of  them  could  be  seen 
many  leagues  away.  In  line  3  Amen  is  said  to 

have  been ptak-tu 1=1 1  i.e.,  he  was  “  designed/' 

just  as  an  object  is  designed,  or  plotted  out,  by 
a  draughtsman,  and  the  correct  meaning  of  the 


Net  (Neith),  the  female  counter¬ 
part  of  Sebak,  or  Sebek. 


word  may  be  that  Amen  designed  his  own  form. 
Next  the  god  “  plated  his  limbs,"  i.e.,  he  made 
them  to  have  the  appearance  of  plates  made  of 
tcham  metal.  This  statement  is  followed  by  the 
words,  “  [He]  gives  birth,  but  was  not  himself 
born  :  Only  One  in  his  characteristics,  qualities, 
powers  and  operations." 

Thus  we  learn  that  Amen  was,  like  Khepera,  self- 
designed,  self-created,  self-existent  in  a  form  that 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  31 

was  never  born  as  ordinary  creatures  are,  and  that 
he  was  One  and  Alone  without  equal,  or  fellow,  or 
counterpart.  The  writer  next  refers  to  the  duration 
of  the  god’s  existence,  as  the  traverser  of  eternity, 
and  the  passer  over  the  roads  of  millions  of  years 
with  his  form.  His  splendour  is  the  splendour  of 
heaven,  and  though  “  all  men  see  his  passage,  he  is 


Her-Semsu,  or  Horus  the  Aged. 


Her-pa-khart  (Harpokrates),  or 
Horus  the  Child. 


hidden  from  their  faces  ”  (in  his  character  of  the 
“  hidden  ”  god) .  He  travels  over  the  celestial  waters 
vast  distances  in  a  moment  of  time  every  day.  There 
is  no  cessation  in  his  work,  and  every  one  sees  him, 
never  ceasing  to  do  so.  When  he  sets  he  rises 
upon  the  denizens  of  the  Tuat,  and  his  rays  force 
their  way  into  the  eyes  [of  the  dead]  (?)  When  he 
sets  in  the  western  horizon  men  fall  asleep  and 


TUTANKHAMEN 


32 

become  motionless  like  the  dead.  With  these 
words  the  Hymn  to  Amen  comes  to  an  end. 

But  during  the  lifetime  of  these  twin  brothers, 
Her  and  Suti,  the  cult  of  Aten  must  have  made 
considerable  progress  at  Thebes,  for,  in  spite  of 
their  loyalty  to  Amen,  and  to  the  old  solar  gods  of 
the  country,  and  to  Osiris  and  Isis  being  manifest, 
they  caused  a  Hymn  to  Aten  to  be  engraved  on 
their  funerary  stele.  It  has  no  title,  and  follows 
the  Hymn  to  Amen  immediately,  beginning  with 
the  words,  “  Homage  to  thee,  Aten  of  the  day  !  ” 
He  is  called  “  creator  of  men  and  women,  maker 
of  their  lives/’  and  is  identified  with  the  “  Great 
Hawk  of  many-coloured  plumage.”  He  performed 
the  act  of  creation  which  "  raised  ”  himself  up 
out  of  the  primeval  watery  abyss] .  “  The  creator  of 
limself  he  was  not  born.”  He  is  next  identified 
with  the  “  Aged  Horus,”  the  dweller  in  Nut,  the 
oldest  solar  god  or  sky-god  in  Egypt,  and  is 
acclaimed  joyfully  at  rising  and  setting.  He 
created  the  earth  (?).  The  next  words,  Khnem 
Amen  Henmemit ,  are  difficult.  If  the  writer  of 
the  hymn  meant  to  identify  Aten  with  Khnem- 
Amen,  a  god  of  the  region  of  the  First  Cataract, 
that  is  understandable,  but  how,  then,  is  Hen¬ 
memit,  if  that  be  the  correct  reading,  to  be  fitted 
in  ? 1  Aten  is  next  called  “  Conqueror  of  the  Two 
Lands  from  the  greatest  to  the  least.”  Another 
difficulty  meets  us  in  the  words  "  glorious  mother  of 
gods  and  men,”  and  the  words  that  follow, 
“  gracious  artificer,  most  great,  prospering  in 
her  work,”  seem  to  apply  to  this  mother.  Perhaps 
the  writer  of  the  hymn  wished  to  compare  Aten 
to  such  a  mother,  or  he  may  have  regarded  Aten 

■  1  The  true  reading  may  be  hememit  and  so  be  connected 
with  the  word  to  “  roar  ” — Khnem  Amen  of  the  roarings. 
Amenhetep  IV  dedicated  a  scarab  to  a  god  of  roarings 
(British  Museum,  No.  51084). 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  33 

as  father-mother.  After  another  line  containing 
obscure  allusions  we  read,  “  How  marvellous  is 
production  of  him  who  raises  up  his  beauty  from 
the  womb  of  Nut,  and  who  illumines  the  Two 
Lands  with  his  Aten  (Disk)  !  He  the  Pautti 
(the  primeval  matter  out  of  which  the  world  and 
all  in  it  were  made)  created  himself.  He  is  the 
Lord  One.  He  made  the  Seasons  out  of  the 


Her-netch-tef-f,  or  Horus  the 
Avenger  of  his  Father. 


Her-aakhuti  as  Ment,  or  Menthu, 
the  War-god  of  Ilermonthis. 


months,  Summer  because  he  loves  heat,  and 
Winter  because  he  loves  the  cold  ;  [during  the 
former]  he  makes  men’s  bodies  to  become  ex¬ 
hausted.  The  apes  sing  hymns  to  him  when  he 
rises  daily.”  What  follows  on  the  stele  concerns 
the  lives  of  Her  and  Suti,  and  the  text  is  translated 
on  pp. 46-68. 

Judging  by  what  is  said  in  the  Hymn  to  Aten, 

c 


34  TUTANKHAMEN 

the  origin,  nature  and  attributes  of  Aten  closely 
resemble  those  of  Amen.  Both  gods  are  identified 
with  the  oldest  gods  in  Egypt.  Each  is  declared 
to  be  self-created  and  not  to  have  been  born, 
therefore  not  begotten,  and  to  each  is  applied  the 
epithet  “  One.”  It  is  interesting  to  note  that 
Aten  is  identified  with  Pautti,  the  oldest  of  all 
the  gods,  and  with  the  Aged  Horus,  or  Horus 
the  Elder.  As  Aten  is  said  to  be  the  maker  of 
Summer  and  Winter  and  the  months,  it  is  clear 
that  a  tradition,  probably  going  back  to  pre- 
dynastic  times,  associated  him  with  the  primitive 
Year-god.  This  Hymn  shows  that  our  two  archi¬ 
tects  regarded  Aten  as  a  thoroughly  Egyptian  god, 
and  as  one  who  could  be  and  ought  to  be  worshipped 
side  by  side  with  Amen,  who  had  condescended  to 
become  the  begetter  of  their  lord  and  master, 
Amenhetep  III. 

Notwithstanding  the  influence  of  his  mother, 
the  Mitannian  princess,  and  of  his  wives,  some  of 
whom  also  came  from  Mitanni,  Amenhetep  strongly 
supported  the  cult  of  Amen  throughout  the  country, 
and  kept  on  good  terms  with  the  priesthood  of 
Amen.  The  consolidation  of  that  order  by  Thoth- 
mes  III  has  already  been  mentioned,  and  it 
would  seem  that  this  king  instituted,  or,  at  all 
events,  sanctioned  the  daily  performance  of  a 
very  important  service  in  the  sanctuary  of  Amen 
in  the  temple  of  Karnak.  In  the  sanctuary  there 
was  placed  a  naos,  or  shrine,  containing  a  gold  or 
gilded  wooden  figure  of  Amen,  with  moveable 
head,  arms  and  legs  ;  sometimes  a  boat  took 
the  place  of  the  shrine,  and  in  such  cases  the 
figure  of  the  god  was  set  inside  the  cabin.  The 
figure  might  represent  the  god  standing  upright 
or  seated  on  a  throne.  During  the  service  the 
king,  or  his  deputy,  purified  the  sanctuary  and 
himself  by  burning  incense  and  pouring  out 


To  face  p.  34. 


Plate  IIP 


Head  of  a  colossal  statue  of  Amenhetep  III,  wearing  the  uraeus,  the 
symbol  of  sovereignty,  above  his  forehead.  Found  by  Mr.  H.  Salt  during 
the  excavations  which  he  made  near  the  Colossi  in  Western  Thebes. 

British  Museum,  Northern  Egyptian  Gallery. 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  35 

libations  of  fresh  water.  He  then  advanced  to  the 
naos,  broke  the  seal  which  closed  its  doors,  and 
made  obeisance  to  the  figure  of  the  god.  Having 
performed  further  rites  of  purification  on  the 
figure,  he  advanced  and  embraced  it,  in  order 
that  the  soul  of  the  god  might  enter  into  his  body. 
The  naos  was  closed,  and  the  king  left  the 
sanctuary,  but  he  returned  immediately,  when  the 
naos  was  reopened,  and  he  performed  further 
acts  of  obeisance,  and  made  offerings  which 

included  a  figure  of  the  goddess  Maat  or 

Truth.  Next  the  king  dressed  the  figure  in 
symbolic  garments,  and  purified  it,  and  anointed 
it  with  scented  unguents  and  perfumes,  and 
placed  on  it  a  necklace,  amulets,  rings,  etc.  By 
these  acts  the  king  intended  to  imply  that  he, 
the  son  of  a  god,  was  adoring  his  father,  just  as 
children  in  general  adore  their  fathers  and  mothers 
in  the  tomb.  During  some  of  these  ceremonies  the 
god  laid  his  hands  on  the  body  of  the  king,  and 
by  so  doing  transmitted  to  him  the  fluid  of  life, 
which  enabled  the  king  to  live  day  by  day,  and  to 
rule  over  his  people  with  wisdom  and  justice. 
Now  the  king  himself  might  well  perform  his  part 
in  this  great,  solemn  service  at  Thebes,  but  he  could 
not  be  at  the  same  time  at  Abydos  or  elsewhere 
in  Egypt.  Therefore  in  Thebes  and  other  cities 
deputies  were  chosen  to  represent  the  king,  and 
they  were  everywhere  regarded  with  the  reverence 
that  was  due  to  the  performers  of  such  exalted 
duties.  During  the  performance  of  these  rites 
and  ceremonies  hymns  were  chanted  to  Amen 
or  Amen-Ra,  and  of  these  the  following  are 
specimens  i1 — 

1  A  hieroglyphic  transcript  of  the  hieratic  text  will  be 
found  in  Moret,  Le  Rituel  du  Culte  Divin  Joumalier  en 
Egypte,  Paris,  1902,  p.  69. 

C  2 


36  TUTANKHAMEN 

I.  “  Homage  to  thee,  O  Amen-Ra,  Lord  of  Thebes, 
Thou  Boy,  the  ornament  of  the  gods  ! 

All  men  lift  up  their  faces  to  gaze  upon  him. 
Thou  art  the  Lord,  inspiring  awe,  crushing 
those  who  would  revolt  [against  thee]. 

Thou  art  the  King  of  all  the  gods. 

Thou  art  the  great  god,  the  Living  One. 


Menu  Ka-mut-f,  or  Menu,  Bull  of  his  mother,  a 
god  of  new  birth  and  virility,  with  whom  Amen 
and  Amen-Ra  were  identified. 


Thou  art  beloved  for  thy  words, 

[Which  are]  the  satisfaction  of  the  gods. 

Thou  art  the  King  of  heaven,  thou  didst 
make  the  stars. 

Thou  art  the  tcham  metal  (gold)  of  the 
gods  (i.e.,  the  gold  out  of  which  the  gods 
are  made). 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  37 

Thou  art  the  Maker  of  heaven,  thou  didst 
open  the  horizon  and  make  the  gods  to 
come  into  being  according  to  thy  behests. 

[O]  Amen- R a,  Lord  of  the  Throne  of  the  Two 
Lands,  President  of  the  Apit,  Amen-Ra, 
Bull  of  his  mother,  who  art  upon  thy  great 
throne,  Lord  of  rays,  Maker  of  multitudes, 
god  of  the  lofty  plumes,  thou  art  the  King 
of  the  gods,  the  Great  Hawk,  who  makest 
the  breast  to  rejoice.  Thou  art  praised  by 
all  rational  beings  [because]  they  have 
life.” 

II.  “  Watch,  being  at  peace  !  Thou  wat chest  in 

peace.  Watch,  Amen-Ra,  Lord  of  the 
Throne  of  the  Two  Lands,  in  peace. 

Watch,  being  at  peace  !  Thou  watchest  in 
peace.  Watch,  Chief  in  On,  Great  One  in 
Thebes,  in  peace. 

Watch,  being  at  peace  !  Thou  watchest  in 
peace.  Watch,  Creator  of  the  Two  Lands 
(Egypt),  in  peace. 

Watch,  being  at  peace  !  Thou  watchest  in 
peace.  Watch,  thou  who  didst  build  up 
thyself,  in  peace. 

Watch,  being  at  peace  !  Thou  watchest  in 
peace.  Watch,  Creator  of  heaven  and  the 
hidden  things  of  the  two  horizons,  in  peace. 

Watch,  being  at  peace  !  Thou  watchest  in 
peace.  Watch,  O  thou  to  whom  the  gods 
come  with  bowings,  Lord  who  art  feared. 

Mighty  One  whom  the  hearts  of  all  rational 
beings  hold  in  awe,  in  peace/'  {Ibid., 
p.  122.) 

III.  “  Image  of  the  Eldest  Son,  Heir  of  the  earth 

before  thy  father  the  Earth  [Geb  and] 
thy  mother  Nut,  Divine  Image,  who 

earnest  into  being  in  primeval  time,  , 

LJ  \  \ 


38 


TUTANKHAMEN 


when  a  god  did  not  exist,  and  when  the 
name  of  nothing  whatsoever  had  been 
recorded,  when  thou  didst  open  thy  two 
eyes  and  didst  look  out  of  them  light 
appeared  unto  every  man.  When  shadow  is 
pleasing  to  thy  two  eyes,  day  exists  no 
longer. 

Thou  openest  thy  mouth,  thy  word  is  therein. 


Geb,  the  Earth-god,  Father  of 
the  Gods,  Great  God,  Lord  of 
Eternity. 


Nut,  the  Sky-goddess,  the  Lady 
of  Heaven,  who  gave  birth  to  Osiris 
and  Isis  and  Set  and  Nephthys. 


Thou  stablishest  heaven  with  thy  two  arms, 
and  the  West  ment)  in  thy  name  of 
Amen. 

Thou  art  the  Image  of  the  Ka  (or  Double)  of 
all  the  gods,  Image  of  Amen,  Image  of 
Atem,  Image  of  Khepera,  Image  of  the 
Lord  of  all  the  earth,  Image  of  the  Lord 
who  is  crowned  King  of  the  South  and 
North  in  the  North  and  South,  Image  who 
gavest  birth  to  the  gods,  who  gavest  birth 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  39 


to  men,  who  gavest  birth  to  everything, 
the  Lord  of  life,  thou  Living  One,  who 
possessest  power  greater  than  that  of  all 
the  gods.  Thou  hast  conquered  the  Nine 
Gods,  thou  hast  presented  to  them  their 
offering.  Thou  hast  bound  them  together, 
thou  hast  made  them  to  live.  O  thou  Image 
who  hast  created  their  doubles  (?),  thou  hast 


Ptah,  lord  of  Maat,  king  of  the 
Two  Lands  (Egypt),  the  great 
Man-god  of  Memphis. 


Sekhmit,  the  great  lady,  the  lady 
of  heaven,  the  mistress  of  the  Two 
Lands  (Egypt).  She  was  a  female 
counterpart  of  Ptah. 


given  that  which  Horus  has  obtained  for 
himself  from  the  Company  of  the  gods. 
Thou  art  like  a  god  who  designs  with  thy 
fingers,  like  a  god  who  designs  with  thy 
toes.  Thou  hast  become  the  Lord  of  every¬ 
thing,  Aten  who  came  into  being  in  primeval 
time,  god  of  the  two  high  plumes.  Thou 
Begetter,  thou  hast  created  more  than  all 
the  gods.”  (Ibid.,  p.  129.) 


4o  TUTANKHAMEN 

A  papyrus  at  Leyden  contains  a  series  of  very 
interesting  hymns  to  Amen,  and  the  following 
extracts  are  quoted  from  it. 

IV.  Thou  sailest,  Heraakhuti,  and  each 
day  thou  dost  fulfil  the  behest  of  yesterday. 
Thou  art  the  maker  of  the  years  and 
captain  of  the  months  ;  days  and  nights 
and  hours  are  according  to  his  stride. 
Thou  makest  thyself  new  to-day  for  yester¬ 
day  ;  though  going  in  as  the  night  thou 
art  the  day.  The  One  Watcher,  he  hates 
slumber.  Men  sleep  on  their  beds,  but 
his  eyes  watch.  (Chap.  VI.) 

Fashioning  himself  none  knows  his  forms. 
(Chap.  VIII.) 

Mingling  his  seed  with  his  body  to  make 
his  egg  to  come  into  being  within  himself. 
(Chap.  VIII.) 

The  Aten  (Disk)  of  heaven,  his  rays  are 
on  thy  face. 

He  drove  out  the  Nile  from  his  cavern 
for  thy  Pautti.  The  earth  is  made  thy 

statue  ^  ^  .  Thy  name  is  victorious, 

thy  souls  (or  Will)  are  weighty. 

Hawk  destroying  his  attacker  straightway. 
Hidden  (or  secret)  Lion  roaring  loudly, 
driving  his  claws  into  what  is  under  his 
paws.  Bull  for  his  town,  Lion  for  his 
people.  The  earth  shakes  when  he  sends 
forth  his  voice.  Every  being  is  in  awe 
of  him,  mighty  in  power  there  is  none  like 
him.  He  is  the  Beneficent  Power  of  the 
births  of  the  Nine  gods.  (Chap.  IX.) 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  41 

Loosing  evils,  driving  away  sicknesses.  A 
physician  healing  the  eye  without  medicines; 
Opener  of  the  eye,  destroyer  of  the  cast 
in  it.  Being  in  the  Tuat  he  releases  him 
whom  he  loves.  Removing  from  Destiny 
according  to  his  heart's  desire.  Possessing 
eyes  and  ears  he  is  on  every  path  of  him 
that  loves  him. 

He  hears  the  petitions  of  him  that  invokes 
him.  Being  afar  off  he  comes  in  a  moment 
to  him  that  calls  him. 

He  adds  to  the  term  of  life  and  he  shortens  it. 

To  him  whom  he  loves  he  gives  more  than 
Fate  has  allotted  to  him. 

To  the  man  who  sets  him  in  his  heart  he 
is  more  than  millions. 

With  his  name  one  man  is  stronger  than 
hundreds  of  thousands.  (Chap.  XI.) 

Thou  didst  exist  first  in  the  forms  of  the 
Eight  Gods  [of  Hermopolis],  and  then 
thou  didst  complete  them  and  become 

one> 

Thy  body  is  hidden  in  the  Chiefs,  thou  art 
hidden  as  Amen  at  the  head  of  the  gods. 

Thy  form  was  that  of  Tanen  in  order  to  give 
birth  to  the  Pautti  gods  in  thy  primeval 
matter.  Thou  dost  enter  fathers  making 
their  sons.  Thou  didst  first  come  into  being 
when  there  was  no  being  in  existence. 
All  the  gods  came  into  being  after  thee. 
(Chap.  XIII.) 

Amen  came  into  being  in  primeval  time, 
none  knows  the  form  in  which  he  appeared. 
No  god  existed  before  him,  there  was  no 
other  god  with  him  to  declare  his  form. 


TUTANKHAMEN 

He  had  no  mother  for  whom  his  name  was 
made.  He  had  no  father  who  begot  him, 
saying,  It  is  even  myself.  He  shaped  his 
own  egg ;  the  divine  god,  becoming  of 
himself ;  all  the  gods  were  created  after 
he  came  into  being.  (Chap.  XIV.) 

One  is  Amen,  he  hides  himself  from  them, 
he  conceals  himself  from  the  gods. 

The  man  who  utters  his  secret  (or  mystery) 
name,  which  cannot  be  known,  falls  down 
upon  his  face  straightway  and  dies  a  violent 
death.  No  god  knows  how  to  call  upon 
11™/’  (Chap.  XV.)1 * 3 


The  extracts  given  in  the  last  section  are  taken 
from  a  work  on  Amen  which  was  not  intended  to 
be  sung  in  the  temples.  It  is,  more  or  less,  a 
philosophical  treatise  on  the  origin,  nature,  and 
powers  of  the  god,  showing  that  he  is  the  source  of 
all  life,  animate  and  inanimate.  The  existence 
of  other  gods  is  admitted,  but  they  are  merely 
forms  of  him,  the  great  god  whose  three  characters 
or  persons  were  called  Amen  (of  Thebes),  Ra  (of 
Heliopolis)  and  Ptah  (of  Memphis).  His  Oneness, 
or  Unity,  was  absolute.  We  may  now  give  an 
extract  from  the  famous  Hymn  to  Amen  which 
is  preserved  in  a  papyrus  in  the  Egyptian  Museum, 
Cairo/  and  was  undoubtedly  sung  by  men  and 
women  to  the  accompaniment  of  music  in  the 
temples. 


1  For  transcripts  of  the  hieratic  texts,  translations,  etc.,  see 

Gardiner  in  Aegyptische  Zeitschrift ,  Bd.  42  (1905),  p.  12  ff. 

3  A  complete  transcript  of  the  hieratic  text  into  hiero¬ 
glyphs,  with  a  French  translation,  has  been  published  by 
Grebaut,  Hymne  a  Ammon-Ra,  Paris,  1875. 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  43 

A  Hymn  to  Amen-Ra. 

§1.  Bull,  dwelling  in  On,  President  of  all  the 
gods, 

Beautiful  god,  Meriti  (he  who  is  loved), 
Giving  all  life  of  warmth 
To  all  beautiful  cattle. 

§11.  Hail  to  thee,  Amen-Ra,  Lord  of  the 
Throne  of  the  Two  Lands  ! 

First  One  in  the  Apts  ( i.e .,  Karnak), 

Bull  of  his  mother,  first  one  of  his  pasture. 
Extended  of  stride,  first  one  of  the 
Land  of  the  South, 

Lord  of  the  Matchaiu  (Nubians),  Gover¬ 
nor  of  Punt, 

Prince  of  Heaven,  Eldest  one  of  Earth, 
Lord  of  things  which  are,  stablisher  of 
creation,  stablisher  of  all  creation. 

§111.  One,  through  his  unrivalled  powers  among 

the  gods,  Chief  of  all  the  gods, 

Lord  of  Truth,  Father  of  the  gods, 
Maker  of  men,  creator  of  beasts, 

Lord  of  the  things  that  are,  creator  of 
the  plant  of  life  (wheat), 

Maker  of  green  plants,  making  to  live 
the  cattle. 

§IV.  Power,  produced  by  Ptah, 

Beautiful  Boy  of  love, 

The  gods  ascribe  praises  to  him, 

Maker  of  things  below  and  of  things 
above,  illumining  Egypt, 

Sailing  over  the  heavens  in  peace. _ 

King  of  the  South  and  North  ^  R a  J, 

Whose  word  is  true,  Chief  of  the  Two 
Lands  (Egypt), 


44 


TUTANKHAMEN 


Great  of  power,  Lord  of  awe, 

Chief,  making  the  earth  like  his  form, 
Dispenser  of  destinies  (or  plans)  more 
than  any  god. 

§IX.  Casting  down  his  enemy  into  the  flame, 
His  eye  overthroweth  the  Sebau  fiends. 
It  maketh  her  spear  stab  Nun  (the 
abyss  of  heaven), 

It  maketh  the  serpent  fiend  Nak  vomit 
what  he  hath  swallowed. 


§X.  Hail  to  thee,  Ra,  Lord  of  Truth  ! 

Hidden  one  in  his  shrine,  Lord  of  the 
gods, 

Khepera  in  his  boat. 

He  sent  out  the  Word,  the  gods  came 
into  being, 

Temu,  maker  of  men, 

Making  different  their  characters  and 
forms,  making  their  life, 

Distinguishing  by  their  skins  one  from 
the  other. 

§XI.  He  hearkeneth  to  the  groan  of  the 
afflicted, 

Being  gracious  to  him  that  crieth  to 
him, 

Delivering  the  timid  man  from  the 
bully. 

Judging  between  the  oppressor  and  the 
helpless  one. 

X 

§XV.  Image  One,  ^  ®  J  : 

everything  that  is, 

One  Alone,  ^  ^  ^>,  maker  of 

things  that  are. 


maker  of 


TUTANKHAMEN  AND  CULT  OF  AMEN  45 

Men  proceed  from  his  eyes, 

The  gods  come  into  being  by  his 
utterance  ; 

Maker  of  green  herbs,  Vivifier  of  the 
cattle, 

The  staff  of  life  of  the  Henmemet  beings, 
Making  the  fish  to  live  in  the  river, 

And  the  geese  in  the  sky, 

Giving  air  to  the  creature  in  the  egg, 
Making  to  live  feathered  fowl, 

Making  khennur  birds  to  live. 

And  creeping  things  and  insects  likewise, 
Providing  food  for  the  mice  in  their  holes. 
And  making  the  birds  to  live  on  every 
branch. 


§XIX.  Chief  of  the  Great  Nine  Gods, 

One  Alone,  without  a  second 


■«-c=5— 

—a  (e> 


\\ 


a  hymn  to  Amen  and  Aten 


BY 

Her  and  Suti,  Overseers  of  Works  at  Thebes, 
in  the  Reign  of  Amenhetep  III. 


[British  Museum,  Stele  No.  475. [] 


AAAyV'A  n  AAA/VAA 


1.  A  Hymn  of  Praise  to  Amen  when  he  riseth  as 

Horus  of  the  Two  Horizons  by  Suti,  the 
Overseer  of  the  Works  of  Amen,  [and  by’ 
Her  (Horus),  the  Overseer  of  the  Works  of 
Amen.  They  say  : — Homage  to  thee,  Ra, 
Beautiful  (or  Beneficent)  One  of  every 
day  !  Thou  shootest  up 

2.  at  sunrise  (or  dawn)  without  fail,1 2  Khepera,3 

1  This  monument  has  been  published  by  Pierret,  Recueil, 
tome  I.,  p.  20  and  by  Birch,  Trans.  Soc.  Bibl.  Arch.,  Vol.  VIII, 
p.  143  If. 

2  Literally,  “  he  maketh  not  cessation.” 

3  Or  “  Creator.”  Here  Amen  is  identified  with  the  ancient 
god  of  Creation. 


To  face  p.  46. 


Plate  IV. 


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Stele  of  Her  and  Suti,  twin  brothers  who  were  overseers  of  the  works  of  Amen- 
hetep  III  at  Thebes.  The  text  contains  a  Hymn  to  Amen,  and  a  Hymn  to  x\ten. 

British  Museum,  No.  475. 


47 


A  HYMN  TO  AMEN  AND  ATEN 


great  one  of  works.  Thy  radiance  is  in  thy 
face,  [thou]  Unknown.  [As  for]  shining 
metal1  it  doth  not  resemble  thy  splendours. 

3.  Being  designed3 4  thou  didst  mould  into  form 

thy  members  ;  giving  birth,  but  he  was  not 
born  ;  One  by  himself  by  reason  of  his  power 
(or  abilities),  Traverser  of  Eternity,  He  who 
is  over  (or  Chief  of)  the  ways  of  millions 
of  years,  maintaining  his  Divine  Form. 

4.  As  are  the  beauties  of  the  celestial  regions 

even  so  are  thy  beauties.  More  brilliant  is 
thy  complexion  than  that  of  heaven.  Thou 
sailest  across  the  heavens,  all  faces 
mankind)  look  at  thee  as  thou  goest,  though 
thou  thyself  art  hidden  from  their  faces. 

1  Tchdm,  perhaps  gilded  copper,  or  even  gold  itself.  The 
caps  of  the  obelisks  were  covered  with  it. 

2  Meaning  perhaps,  “  thou  didst  design  thine  own  form.” 


48 


TUTANKHAMEN 


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5.  Thou  showest  thyself  at  break  of  day  in 
beams  of  light,  strong  is  thy  Seqet  Boat 
under  Thy  Majesty.  In  a  little  day  thou 
journey  est  over  a  road  of  millions  and 
hundreds  of  thousands 


6.  of  minutes  (or  moments).  Thy  (?)  day  with 

thee  passeth,  [thou]  sett  est. 

The  hours  of  the  night  likewise  thou  dost 
make  to  fulfil  themselves.  No  interruption 
taketh  place  in  thy  toil.  All  eyes  ( i.e ., 
mankind,  or  all  peoples) 

7.  direct  their  gaze  upon  thee,  they  cease  not  to 

do  so.  When  Thy  Majesty  setteth,  thou 
makest  haste  (?)  to  rise  up  early  in  the 
morning,1  thy  sparkling  rays  flash  in  the 
eyes  (or  penetrate  the  eyes). 


1  The  text  is  probably  corrupt  here  ;  the  writer  meant  to 
say  “  When  Thy  Majesty  setteth,  thou  shinest  and  risest 
upon  the  Tuat  ”  (the  Underworld). 


A  HYMN  TO  AMEN  AND  ATEN  49 


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8.  Thou  settest  in  Manu,  whereupon  [men] 

sleep  after  the  manner  of  the  dead. 

Hail  to  thee,  0  Aten  of  the  day,  thou 
Creator  of  mortals  [and]  Maker  of  their 
life  ( i.e .,  that  on  which  they  live)  !  [Hail] 

9.  thou  Great  Hawk  whose  feathers  are  many- 

coloured,  thou  god  Kheprer,  who  didst 
raise  thyself  up  [from  non-existence]  !  He 
created  himself,  he  was  not  born,  Horus 
the  Elder  (or  the  Old  Hawk),  dweller  in 
Nut  (the  sky).  [Men]  cry  out  joyfully  at 


10.  his  rising  [and]  at  his  setting  likewise.  [He  is] 
the  fashioner  [of  what]  the  ground  produceth, 
Khnem  Amen  of  the  Henmemet,1  conqueror 
of  the  Two  Lands,  from  the  great  one  to 
the  little  one.  [Thou]  Mother  splendid  of 


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11.  Gods  and  men,  artificer,  gracious  one,  exceed¬ 

ingly  great,  progressing  (or  flourishing)  in 
her  work.  The  cattle  (?)  cannot  be 
counted.  The  strong  herdsman,  driving 
his  strong  beasts,  thou  art  their  byre.  He 

12.  provideth  their  life  (i.e.,  sustenance),  springing 

up,  traversing  the  course  (?)  of  Khepera, 
planning  (?)  his  birth,  raising  up  his 
beautiful  [form]  in  the  womb  of  Nut. 
He  illumineth  the  Two  Lands  (Egypt)  with 
his  Aten  (or  Disk),  [he  is]  the  primeval 
substance  (or  plasma)  of  the  Two  Lands. 
He  made  himself. 


A  HYMN  TO  AMEN  AND  ATEN 


13.  He  looketh  on  what  he  hath  made,  the 

Lord  One,  bringing  along  into  captivity 
countless  lands  every  day,  observing  those 
who  walk  about  upon  the  earth  ;  shining 
(or  shooting  up)  in  the  sky  [he  performeth] 
transformations  by  day  (or,  as  Ra).  He 
maketh  the  seasons  from  the  months.  He 
loveth  the  heat  of  summer. 

14.  He  loveth  the  cold  of  winter.  He  maketh 

every  member  of  the  body  to  droop.  He 
embraceth  every  land.  The  ape[s  cry  out] 
in  adoration  of  him  when  he  riseth  daily. 


D  2 


52 


TUTANKHAMEN 


(?) 


15.  Suti,  overseer  of  works,  [and]  Her,  overseer 

of  works,  [each]  saith,  “  I  was  the  director 
of  thy  throne  [and]  overseer  of  works 
in  thy  sanctuary  [which],  as  was  right, 
thy  beloved  son,  the  Lord  of  the  Two 
Lands,  Nebmaatra,  the  giver  of  life, 
made  for  thee.  My  Lord  appointed  me  to 
be  the  officer  in  charge  of  thy  monuments. 

16.  I  kept  watch  diligently,  I  served  the  office 

of  director  of  thy  monuments  strenuously, 
performing  the  laws  of  thy  heart.  I  knew 
how  to  make  thee  to  rest  upon  Truth, 
making  thee  great  to  do  it  upon  the  earth. 


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17.  I  was  performing  it  [and]  thou  didst  make  me 

great.  Thou  didst  set  the  favours  [or 
praises]  of  me  on  the  earth  in  the  Apts 
(Karnak).  I  was  among  thy  followers  when 
thou  didst  ascend  the  throne.  I  am  truth 
who  abominateth  false  words  and  deeds. 

18.  I  never  took  pleasure  in  any  conversation 

wherein  were  words  of  exaggeration  and 
lies.  My  brother  was  like  myself.  I  took 
pleasure  in  his  affairs  ;  he  came  forth  from 
the  womb  with  me  on  this  ( i.e .,  the  same) 
day. 


54  TUTANKHAMEN 


19.  Suti,  the  overseer  of  the  works  of  Amen 

in  the  Southern  Apt  (i.e.,  Luxor),  and  Her 
[the  overseer  of  works],  say : — I  was 
director  over  the  western  side,  and  he  was 
director  over  the  eastern  side  ;  we  two 
were  directors  of  the  great  monuments 

20.  in  the  Apt,  more  particularly  those  of 

Thebes,  the  City  of  Amen.  Grant  thou 
to  me  an  old  age  in  thy  city,  and  in  thy 
beneficence  make  me  a  burial  in  Amentt, 
that  place  of  rest  of  heart. 

21.  Let  me  be  placed  among  thy  favoured  ones, 

departing  in  peace.  Grant  thou  to  me 
sweet  air  when  ....  [and]  the  wear¬ 
ing  (or  bearing)  of  bandlets  on  the  day  of 
the  festival  of  Ug. 


THE  CULT  OF  ATEN,  THE  GOD  AND  DISK 
OF  THE  SUN,  ITS  ORIGIN,  DEVELOP¬ 
MENT  AND  DECLINE. 


Amongst  all  the  mass  of  the  religious  literature 
of  Ancient  Egypt,  there  is  no  document  that 
may  be  considered  to  contain  a  reasoned  and 
connected  account  of  the  ideas  and  beliefs  which 
the  Egyptians  associated  with  the  god  Aten. 
The  causes  of  his  rise  into  favour  towards  the  close 
of  the  XVII I th  dynasty  can  be  surmised,  and  the 
principal  dogmas  which  the  founder  of  his  cult 
and  his  followers  promulgated  are  discoverable  in 
the  Hymns  that  are  found  on  the  walls  of  the 
rock-hewn  tombs  of  Tall  al-fAmarnah ;  but  the 
true  history  of  the  rise,  development  and  fall  of 
the  cult  can  never  be  completely  known.  The 


word  aten,  [  or  athen  [ 


,  is  a  very 


old  word  for  the  “  disk  ”  or  “  face  of  the  sun,” 
and  Atenism  was  beyond  doubt  an  old  form  of 
worship  of  the  sun.  But  there  were  many  forms  of 
sun-worship  older  than  the  cult  of  Aten,  and 
several  solar  gods  were  worshipped  in  Eg}/pt 
many,  many  centuries  before  Aten  was  regarded 
as  a  special  form  of  the  great  solar  god  at  all. 
One  of  the  oldest  forms  of  the  Sun-god  worshipped 
in  Egypt  was  Her  (Horus),  who  in  the  earliest 
times  seems  to  have  represented  the  “  height  ” 
or  "  face  ”  of  heaven  by  day.  He  was  symbolized 


by  the  sparrowhawk 


bird  representing  the  sun  and  his  left  the  moon. 


56  TUTANKHAMEN 


In  later  times  he  was  called  “  Her-ur  ”  or  Her- 
sems/’  the  “  older  Horus,”  and  it  was  he  who 
fought  daily  against  Set,  the  darkness  of  night  and 
the  night  sky,  and  triumphed  over  him. 

The  oldest  seat  of  the  cult  of  the  Sun-god  was 


the  famous  city  of  Anu  [j  ^  ,  the  On  of  the  Bible, 
and  the  Heliopolis  of  Greek  and  Latin  writers. 


Horus,  hawk-headed,  and  Set, 
his  twin  brother ;  the  former  was 
god  of  the  day,  and  the  latter  god 
of  the  night. 


IT 


The  goddess  Nephthys  who,  ac¬ 
cording  to  Heliopolitan  Theology, 
was  a  female  counterpart  of  Set. 


Here,  from  time  immemorial,  existed  a  temple 
dedicated  to  the  Sun-god,  and  attached  to  it  was 
a  college  of  his  priests,  who  from  a  very  remote 
period  were  renowned  for  their  wisdom  and  learn¬ 


ing.  They  called  their  god  Tem  or  Atem  Jj, 

D  O  RL  .  'A"  1L 

[]  ^  ,  and  in  later  times,  at  least,  he 


CULT  OF  ATEN  57 

was  depicted  in  the  form  of  a  man  wearing  the 
Crowns  of  the  South  and  North,  and  holding  in 

his  right  hand  ankh  y  (“  life  ”)  and  in  his  left 

a  sceptre.  He  was  king  of  heaven  and  also  of 
Egypt.  He  was  a  solar  god  and,  like  every  other 
ancient  god  in  Egypt,  had  absorbed  the  attributes 
of  several  indigenous  gods  whose  names  even 


Shu,  son  of  Ra,  source  of  heat  Tefnut,  daughter  of  Ra,  source  of 

and  light.  moisture  and  water.  She  was  a 

female  counterpart  of  Shu. 

are  now  not  known.  The  Pyramid  Texts  show 
that  he  was  all-powerful  in  heaven,  and  that  his 
priests  proclaimed  him  to  be  the  greatest  of  all 
the  gods.  The  supremacy  of  Tern  is  asserted  in 
the  various  versions  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead,  and 
all  the  other  solar  gods  are  regarded  as  forms  of 
him  in  the  various  recensions  of  this  work.  Thus 


58  TUTANKHAMEN 


in  the  XVIIth  Chapter  he  says  :  41  I  am  Tem  in  his 
rising.  I  was  the  Only  One  [when]  I  came  into 
existence  in  Nenu  (or  Nu).  I  am  Ra  when  he  rose 
for  the  first  time.  I  am  the  Great  God  who  created 
himself  [from]  Nenu,  and  who  made  his  names 
to  become  the  gods  of  his  company.  I  am  he 
who  is  irresistible  among  the  gods.  I  am  Tem, 


the  dweller  in 


his  Disk  (j 


wwv\ 

O  ’ 


or  Ra  in  his  rising 


in  the  eastern  horizon  of  the  sky.  I  am  Yesterday  ; 
I  know  To-day.  I  am  the  Bennu  ( i.e .,  Phoenix) 
which  is  in  Ann  (Heliopolis),  and  I  keep  the 
register  of  the  things  which  are  created  and  of 
those  which  are  not  yet  in  existence/'  The  Com¬ 
pany  of  the  gods  over  whom  “  Father  Tem  ” 
presided  consisted  of  Shu  and  Tefnut,  Geb  and 
Nut,  Osiris  and  Isis,  and  Set  and  Nephthys. 
According  to  one  tradition,  Tem  produced  Shu 
and  Tefnut  from  his  own  body,  and  these  three 
gods  formed  the  first  Triad,  or  Trinity,  Tem 
saying,  “  From  [being]  god  one  I  became  three." 

In  the  extract  from  the  XVIIth  Chapter  given 
above,  we  must  note  that  i.  Tem  originally 
existed  in  Nenu,  or  Nu,  the  great  mass  of  primeval 
waters.  2.  He  was  the  Only  One  in  existence 
when  he  had  come  into  being.  3.  He  created 
himself  the  Great  God.  4.  He  possessed  various 
names,  and  these  he  turned  into  the  gods  who 
formed  his  Pest  or  Ennead,  merely  by  uttering 
their  names.  5.  He  was  irresistible  among  the 
gods,  i.e .,  he  was  the  Over-lord  of  the  gods.  6.  He 
comprehended  time  past  and  time  to  come.  7.  He 
dwelt  in  the  Solar  Disk  (Aten).  8.  He  rose  in  the 
sky  for  the  first  time  under  the  form  of  Ra,  and 
he  was  himself  the  Bennu,  i.e.,  the  Soul  of  Ra. 
9.  He  kept  the  Registers  of  things  created  and 
uncreated.  Though  the  papyrus  from  which  we 
get  these  facts  is  not  older  than  the  XVIIIth 


CULT  OF  ATEN  59 

dynasty,  each  of  the  statements  which  are  here 
grouped  exists  in  the  various  religious  texts  that 
were  written  under  the  Ancient  Empire,  say, 
two  thousand  years  earlier. 

Of  the  style  and  nature  of  the  worship  of  Tern 
we  know  nothing,  but,  from  the  fact  that  he  was 
depicted  in  the  form  of  a  man,  we  appear  to  be 
justified  in  assuming  that  it  was  of  a  character 


superior  to  that  of  the  cults  of  sacred  animals, 
birds  and  reptiles,  which  were  general  in  Egypt 
under  the  earlier  dynasties.  Tern,  the  man-god, 
absorbed  the  attributes  of  Her-ur,  the  old  Sky-god, 
and  of  Khepera,  the  Beetle-god,  who  represented 
one  or  more  of  the  forms  of  an  ancient  Sun-god 
between  sunset  and  sunrise,  and  of  Her-aakhuti 
(“  Horus  of  the  two  horizons  ”).  Khepera  was 


6o  TUTANKHAMEN 

the  sun  during  the  hour  that  precedes  the  dawn. 
Her  was  the  sun  by  day,  and  Tem  was  the  setting 
sun ;  the  names  of  these  gods  are  of  native 
origin.  We  may  conclude  that  the  priests  of  Tem 
incorporated  into  their  forms  of  worship  as  many 
as  possible  of  the  rites  and  ceremonies  to  which 
the  people  had  been  accustomed  in  their  worship 
of  the  older  gods.  For  there  was  nothing  strange 
in  the  absorption  of  one  god  by  another  to  the 
Egyptian,  the  god  absorbed  being  regarded  by  him 
merely  as  a  phase  or  character  of  the  absorbing 
god.  The  Egyptians,  like  many  other  Orientals, 
were  exceedingly  tolerant  in  such  matters. 

The  monuments  prove  that,  quite  early  in  the 
Dynastic  Period,  there  was  known  and  worshipped 
in  Lower  Egypt  another  form  of  the  Sun-god  who 

was  called  Ra  <===>n  ®  ^j.  Of  his  origin  and 

early  history  nothing  is  known,  and  the  meaning  of 
his  name  has  not  yet  been  satisfactorily  explained. 
It  does  not  seem  to  be  Egyptian,  but  it  may  be 
that  of  some  Asiatic  sun-god,  whose  cult  was 
introduced  into  Egypt  at  a  very  remote  period. 
His  character  and  attributes  closely  resemble  those 
of  the  Babylonian  god  Marduk,  and  both  Ra  and 
Marduk  may  be  only  different  names  of  one  and 
the  same  ancestor.  The  centre  of  the  cult  of  Ra 
in  Egypt  was  Anu,  or  Heliopolis,  and  the  city 
must  have  been  inhabited  by  a  cosmopolitan 
population  (who  were  chiefly  worshippers  of  the 
sun)  from  time  immemorial.  All  the  caravans 
from  Arabia  and  Syria  halted  there,  whether 
outward  or  homeward  bound,  and  men  of  many 
nations  and  tongues  must  have  exchanged  ideas 
there  as  well  as  commodities.  The  control  of 
the  water  drawn  from  the  famous  Well  of  the 
Sun,  the  'Ain  ash-Shams’  of  Arab  writers,  was, 
no  doubt,  in  the  hands  of  the  priests  of  Anu, 


CULT  OF  ATEN 


61 


and  the  payments  made  by  grateful  travellers  for 
the  watering  of  their  beasts,  together  with  other 
offerings,  made  them  rich  and  powerful.  The 
waters  of  the  well  were  believed  to  spring  from  the 
celestial  waters  of  Nenu,  or  Nu,  and  the  Nubian 
King  Piankhi  tells  us  that  when  he  went  toAnu 
he  bathed  his  face  in  the  water  in  which  Ra 
was  wont  to  bathe  his  face.1  We  may  note  in 
passing  that  the  Virgin  Mary  drew  water  from  this 
well  when  the  Holy  Family  halted  at  Anu. 

Under  the  IVth  dynasty  the  priests  of  Anu 
obtained  very  considerable  power,  and  they  suc¬ 
ceeded  in  acquiring  pre-eminence  for  their  god 
Ra  among  the  other  gods  of  Lower  Egypt.  Whether 
or  not  they  chose  the  kings  cannot  be  said,  but  it 
is  certain  that  they  caused  the  name  of  Ra  to 
form  a  part  of  the  Nesu  bat  names  of  the  builders 
of  the  second  and  third  pyramids  at  Gizah.  Thus 
we  have  Khaf-Ra  (Khephren)  and  Menkau-Ra 
(Mycerinus).  Not  satisfied  with  this,  they  rejected 
the  descendants  of  the  great  pyramid  builders,  and 
set  upon  the  throne  a  number  of  kings  whom  they 
declared  to  be  the  sons  of  their  god  Ra  by  the  wife 
of  one  of  his  priests.  The  first  of  these  adopted 
as  his  fifth,  or  personal  name,  the  title  of  "  Sa 
Ra,”  i.e.,  son  of  Ra.  This  title,  which  was  certainly 
adopted  by  the  kings  of  the  Vth  dynasty,  was 
borne  by  every  king  of  Egypt  afterwards,  and 
the  Nubian,  Persian,  Macedonian,  or  Roman  who 
became  king  of  Egypt  saw  no  absurdity  in  styling 
himself  "  son  of  Ra.”  Thanks  to  the  excavations 
made  by  Borchardt  and  Schafer,  under  the  direc¬ 
tion  of  F.  von  Bissing,  several  important  facts 
dealing  with  the  worship  of  Ra  have  been  brought 
to  light.  The  sun  temples  built  by  the  later 
kings  of  the  Vth  dynasty  were  usually  buildings 


1  Stele  of  Piankhi,  1.  102. 


62 


TUTANKHAMEN 


/\ 
B 


A 


about  325  feet  long  and  245  feet  broad.  At  the 
west  end  stood  a  truncated,  or  “  blunted/'  pyramid 
(A),  and  on  the  top  of  it  was  an  obelisk  made  of 

stone  (B) .  In  front  of  the  east  side 
of  the  pyramid  stood  an  alabaster 
altar,  and  on  the  north  side  of  the 
altar  were  channels  along  which 
the  blood  of  the  victims,  both 
animal  and  human,  ran  into 
alabaster  bowls  which  were  placed 
to  receive  it.  On  the  north  side  of  the  rectangular 
walled  enclosure  was  a  row  of  store  rooms,  and 
on  the  east  and  south  sides  were  passages,  the 
walls  of  which  were  decorated  with  reliefs.  Oppo¬ 
site  the  altar,  on  the  east  side,  was  a  gateway ;  from 
this  ran  a  path,  which  led  by  an  inclined  cause¬ 
way  to  another  gate,  which  formed  the  entrance 
to  another  large  enclosure,  about  1,000  feet  square. 
The  priests  lived  in  this  enclosure,  and  in  special 
chambers  were  kept  the  sacred  objects  which  were 
carried  in  procession  on  days  of  festival. 

The  principal  object  of  the  cult  of  Ra  and  his 
special  symbol  was  the  obelisk,  but  it  has  been 
suggested  that  the  earliest  worshippers  of  the  sun 
believed  that  their  god  dwelt  in  a  particular  stone  of 
pyramidal  shape.  At  stated  seasons,  or  for  special 
purposes,  the  Spirit  of  the  Sun  was  induced  by  the 
priests  to  inhabit  the  stone,  and  it  was  believed  to  be 
present  when  gifts  were  offered  up  to  the  god,  and 
when  human  victims,  who  were  generally  prisoners 
of  war,  were  sacrificed.  The  exact  signification  of 
this  sun  symbol  is  not  known.  Some  think  that 
the  obelisk  represented  the  axis  of  earth  and 
heaven,  but  the  Egyptians  can  hardly  have  evolved 
such  an  idea  ;  others  assign  to  it  a  phallic  significa¬ 
tion,  and  others  associate  it  with  an  object  that 
produced  fire  and  heat.  That  it  symbolized  Ra 
is  certain,  and  there  was  in  every  sanctuary  a 


CULT  OF  ATEN 


shrine  in  which,  behind  sealed  doors,  was  a  model 
of  an  obelisk.  The  cult  of  the  standing  stone, 
or  pillar,  was  probably  older  than  the  cult  of  Ra, 

and  the  old  name  of  Heliopolis  is  Anu,  i.e., 

the  city  of  the  pillar.  The  Spirit  of  the  Sun 


Osiris  Khenti  Amentt,  god  and 
judge  of  the  dead  and  lord  of  the 
Other  World. 


The  triune  god  of  the  Osirian 
Resurrection.  The  three  members 
of  his  triad  were  Seker,  an  old 
Death-god  of  Memphis ;  Ptah,  a 
Creation-god  of  Memphis  ;  and 
Osiris,  the  vivifier  of  the  dead. 


visited  the  temple  of  the  sun  from  time  to  time 
in  the  form  of  a  Bennu  bird,  and  alighted  “  on 
the  Ben-stone,1  in  the  house  of  the  Bennu  in 
Anu  ”  ;  in  later  times  the  Bennu-bird,  which 


i 


II  S  ’  pyramid  Texts,  II.  N.  663,  p.  372. 


TUTANKHAMEN 


the  Egyptians  regarded  as  the  “  soul  of  Ra,” 
was  known  as  the  Phoinix,  or  Phoenix. 

Under  the  Vlth  dynasty  the  priests  of  Ra 
succeeded  in  thrusting  their  god  into  the  position 
of  over-lord  of  all  the  gods,  and  as  we  see  from 
the  names  Ra-Khepera,  Ra-Atem,  Ra-Her- 
aakhuti  and  the  like,  all  the  old  solar  gods  of  the 
north  of  Egypt  were  regarded  as  forms  of  Ra. 
He  was  king  of  heaven  and  judge  of  gods  and  men, 
and  the  attempt  was  also  made  to  make  the  people 
accept  him  as  the  over-lord  of  Osiris  and  king 
of  the  Tuat,  or  Underworld.  But  in  this  last 
matter  the  priests  failed,  and  Osiris  maintained 
his  position  as  the  god  and  judge  of  the  dead. 
The  priests  had  assigned  to  Ra  in  the  funerary 
compositions,  which  are  now  known  as  the  “  Pyra¬ 
mid  Texts,”  great  powers  over  the  dead,  and, 
in  fact,  over  all  the  gods  and  demons  and  denizens 
of  the  underworld,  but  before  a  century  had 
passed,  Osiris  had  established  absolute  sovereignty 
over  his  realm  of  Amentt. 

From  what  has  been  said  above  it  is  evident 
that,  before  the  close  of  the  Vlth  dynasty,  the 
priests  of  the  various  solar  gods  of  Lower  Egypt 
had  assigned  to  each  of  them  all  the  essential 
powers  and  characteristics  which  Amenhetep 
claimed  for  his  god  Aten.  But  before  we  consider 
these  powers  in  detail  we  must  summarize  briefly 
the  principal  historical  facts  relating  to  the  rise 
and  development  of  the  Aten  cult.  Wherever  a 
solar  god  was  worshipped  in  Egypt  the  habitat 
of  this  god  was  believed  to  be  the  solar  Disk 


A/VWVN  or  athen 

O 


But  the  oldest 


solar  god  who  was  associated  with  the  Disk  was 
Tern,  or  Atmu,  who  is  frequently  referred  to 
in  religious  texts  as  “  Tem  in  his  Disk  ”  ;  when 
Ra  usurped  the  attributes  of  Tem  he  became  the 


CULT  OF  ATEN 


65 


“  dweller  in  his  Disk/'  Heraakhuti  was  the  “  god 
of  the  two  horizons/'  i.e.,  the  Sun-god  by  day, 
from  sunrise  to  sunset,  and  in  the  hieroglyphs 


with  which  his  name  is  written 


we  see 


the  Disk  resting  upon  the  horizon  of  the  east 
and  the  horizon  of  the  west.  Thothmes  TV, 
who  owed  his  throne  to  the  priesthoods  of  Tern 
and  Ra  at  Heliopolis,  incorporated  the  name  of 
Tern  in  his  Nebti  title,  and  styled  himself  "  made 
of  Ra,”  “  chosen  of  Ra,”  and  "  beloved  of  Ra.” 
As  the  name  of  Amen  is  wanting  in  every  one  of 
his  titles,  it  seems  reasonable  to  assume  that  his 
personal  sympathies  lay  with  the  cult  of  the 
solar  gods  of  the  North  and  not  with  the  cult  of 
Amen  of  Thebes.  But  he  maintained  good  rela¬ 
tions  with  the  priests  of  Amen,  and  made  gifts 
to  their  god,  who  through  the  victories  of 
Thothmes  III  was  recognized  in  the  Egyptian 
Sudan,  Egypt,  and  Syria  as  the  god  of  all  the 
world. 

Thothmes  IV  was  succeeded  by  his  son  Amen- 
hetep,  the  third  king  to  bear  the  name,  and  the 
priesthood  of  Thebes  asserted  that  he  was  the 
veritable  son  of  their  god  Amen,  whose  blood  ran 
in  his  veins.  According  to  this  fiction  the  god 
assumed  the  form  of  Thothmes  IV,  and  Queen 
Mutemuaa  became  with  child  by  him.  How  much 
or  how  little  religious  instruction  the  child  received 
cannot  be  said,  but  it  is  probable  that  any  teaching 
which  he  received  from  his  mother,  the  princess 
of  Mitanni,  would  make  his  mind  to  incline  towards 
the  religion  of  her  native  land.  From  the  titles 
which  Amenhetep  assumed  when  he  became  king 
it  is  clear  that  he  was  content  to  be  “  the  chosen 
of  Ra,”  “  the  chosen  of  Tern,”  or  “  the  chosen 
of  Amen,”  and  it  seems  to  have  mattered  little 
to  him  whether  he  was  the  “  beloved  ”  and 


E 


66 


TUTANKHAMEN 


"  emanation  of  Ra  ”  or  the  “  beloved  ”  and 
"  emanation  of  Amen/'  His  predecessors  on  the 
throne  of  Egypt  believed  in  all  seriousness  that 
they  had  divine  blood  in  their  veins,  and  they 
acted  as  they  thought  gods  would  act  ;  they  had 
themselves  hedged  round  with  elaborate  cere¬ 
monial  procedure,  which  made  men  believe  that 
their  king  was  a  god.  To  Amenhetep  all  the  gods 
of  Egypt  were  alike,  and  we  see  from  the  bas- 
reliefs  in  the  temple  at  Sulb,  some  fifty  miles 
above  the  head  of  the  Second  Cataract,  that  he 
was  as  willing  to  worship  himself  and  to  offer 
sacrifices  to  himself  as  to  Amen,  in  whose  honour 
he  had  rebuilt  the  temple.  It  is  impossible  to 
think  of  his  performing  daily  the  rites  and  cere¬ 
monies  which  the  king  of  Egypt  was  expected  to 
perform  in  the  shrine  of  Amen-Ra  at  Karnak,  in 
order  to  obtain  from  the  god  the  power  and  know¬ 
ledge  necessary  for  governing  his  people. 

One  of  the  most  important  events  in  his  life, 
and  one  fraught  with  very  far-reaching  conse¬ 
quences,  was  his  marriage  with  the  lady  Ti  (or 


Tei)  a  private  individual,  apparently 


of  no  high  rank  or  social  position.1  In  the  Tall 
al-'Amarnah  letters  her  name  is  transcribed  Tei 


•  Her  father  was  called  Iuau 


( (  and  her  mother  Thuau 2=5  ^  f)  * 


Their  tomb  was  discovered  in  1905, 2  and  it 
is  clear  that  before  the  marriage  of  their 
daughter  to  Amenhetep  III  they  were  humble 
folk.  According  to  a  consensus  of  modern  Egypto¬ 
logical  opinion  they  were  natives  of  Egypt,  not 
foreigners  as  the  older  Egyptologists  supposed. 
Be  this  as  it  may,  there  is  no  doubt  that  Ti  was 


1  See  Davis,  The  Tomb  of  Queen  Tiyi,  London,  1910. 

2  See  Davis,  Tomb  of  Iouiy a  and  Touiyou,  London,  1907. 


To  face  f.  66 


Plate  V. 


Queen  Ti,  wife  of  Amenhetep 


III.  From  a  drawing  in  Davis’s  work  on  her  tomb 
(Plate  XXXIII). 


CULT  OF  ATEN  67 

a  very  remarkable  woman  and  that  her  influence 
over  her  husband  was  very  great.  Her  name 
appears  in  the  inscriptions  side  by  side  with  that 
of  her  husband,  a  fact  which  proves  that  he 
acknowledged  her  authority  as  co-ruler  with 
himself  ;  and  she  assisted  at  public  functions  and 
in  acts  of  ceremonial  worship  in  a  manner  unknown 
to  queens  in  Egypt  before  her  time.  Her  power 
inside  the  palace  and  in  the  country  generally 
was  very  great,  and  there  is  evidence  that  the 
king’s  orders,  both  private  and  public,  were  only 
issued  after  she  had  sanctioned  them.  In  the 
Sudan  the  king  was  worshipped  as  a  god,  and  as 
the  son  and  equal  and  counterpart  of  Amen-Ra, 
and  in  the  temple  which  Amenhetep  built  for  her 
at  Saddenga,  some  twenty  or  thirty  miles  south 
of  Koshah,  Ti  was  worshipped  as  a  goddess.  When 
x\menhetep  married  her,  or  perhaps  when  he 
became  king,  he  caused  a  number  of  unusually 
large  steatite  scarabs  to  be  made,  with  his  names 
and  titles  and  those  of  Ti  cut  side  by  side  on  their 
bases.1  On  another  group  of  large  scarabs  he 
caused  his  own  names  and  titles,  and  the  names 
of  Ti  and  her  father  Iuau  and  mother  Thuau,  to 
be  cut,  and  these  are  followed  by  the  statement, 
“  [She  is]  the  wife  of  the  victorious  king  whose 
territory  in  the  South  reaches  to  Karei  ( i.e ., 
Napata,  at  the  foot  of  the  Fourth  Cataract)  and  in 
the  North  to  Naharn  ”  ( i.e .  the  country  of  the 
head  waters  of  the  Euphrates).3  Perhaps  this  is 
another  way  of  saying  the  great  and  mighty  king 
Amenhetep  was  proud  to  marry  the  daughter  of 
parents  of  humble  birth  and  to  give  her  a  position 
equal  to  his  own.  And  it  is  possible,  as  Maspero 
suggested  long  ago,  that  some  romantic  episode 

1  For  an  example  see  No.  4094  in  the  British  Museum 
(Table  Case  B.  Fourth  Egyptian  Room). 

2  See  Nos.  4096  and  16988. 


68 


TUTANKHAMEN 


is  here  referred  to,  similar  to  that  in  the  old  story 
where  the  king  marries  a  shepherdess  for  love. 
What  Ti’s  religious  views  were,  or  what  gods  she 
worshipped,  we  have  no  means  of  knowing,  but 
the  inscription  which  is  found  repeated  on  several 
large  steatite  scarabs  suggests  that  she  favoured 
the  cult  of  Aten,  and  that  in  the  later  years  of 
her  life  she  was  a  zealous  and  devoted  follower 
of  that  god.  To  please  her  Amenhetep  caused 
a  great  lake  to  be  made  on  her  estate  called 


Tcharukha 


in  Western  Thebes.  This 


lake  was  about  ij  mile  (3,700  cubits)  long  and 
more  than  fth  of  a  mile  (700  cubits)  wide,  and  its 
modern  representative  is  probably  Birkat  Habu. 
On  the  sixteenth  day  of  the  third  month  of  the 
season  Akhet  (October),  in  the  nth  year  of  his 
reign,  His  Majesty  sailed  over  the  lake  in  the 


barge  called  Athen-tehen  { 


/wwv\  n 

o 


3.  i.e.  “Aten 


sparkles/'  And  in  following  years  this  day  was 
celebrated  as  a  festival.  Both  lake  and  barge 
were  made  to  give  the  Queen  pleasure,  and  the 
fact  that  the  name  of  Aten  formed  part  of  the  name 
of  the  latter,  instead  of  Amen,  has  been  taken  to 
show  that  both  the  King  and  Queen  wished  to  pay 
honour  to  this  solar  god.  In  fact,  it  was  definitely 
stated  by  Maspero  that  this  water  procession  of 
the  King  marked  the  inauguration  of  the  cult  of 
Aten  at  Thebes,  and  he  is  probably  correct. 

Amenhetep's  children  by  Ti  consisted  of  four 
daughters  and  one  son  ;  his  daughters  were  called 
Ast,  Henttaneb,  Satamen  and  Baktenaten,  and 
her  son  was  Amenhetep  IV,  the  famous  Aakhunaten. 
Ti  lived  in  Western  Thebes  during  her  husband's 
lifetime,  and  she  continued  to  do  so  after  his 
death.  She  visited  Tall  al-'Amarnah  from  time  to 
time,  and  was  present  there  in  the  twelfth  year  of 


CULT  OF  ATEN 


69 

her  son's  reign.  What  appears  to  be  an  excellent 
portrait  of  her  is  reproduced  on  Plate  XXXIII 
of  Mr.  Davis's  book  on  her  tomb. 

But  his  respect  for  Ti  and  the  honour  in  which 
he  held  her  did  not  prevent  Amenhetep  from  marry¬ 
ing  other  wives,  and  we  know  from  the  Tall  al- 
‘Amarnah  tablets  that  he  married  a  sister  and  a 
daughter  of  Tushratta,  the  King  of  Mitanni.  His 
marriage  with  Gilukhipa,  the  daughter  of  Shutarna 
and  sister  of  Tushratta,  took  place  in  the  tenth 
year  of  his  reign.  And  he  commemorated  the 
event  by  making  a  group  of  large  scarabs  inscribed 
on  their  bases  with  the  statement  that  in  the  tenth 

year  of  his  reign  Gilukhipa 

daughter  of  Shutarna,  prince  of  Neherna,  arrived 

in  Egypt  with  her  ladies  and  escort  of  317  persons.1 

Exactly  when  Amenhetep  married  Tushratta's 

daughter  Tatumkhipa  is  not  known,  but  that  he 

received  many  gifts  with  her  from  her  father  is 

certain,  for  a  tablet  at  Berlin  (No.  296)  contains  a 

long  list  of  her  wedding  gifts  from  her  father.  In 

marrying  princesses  of  Mitanni  Amenhetep  followed 

the  example  of  his  father,  Thothmes  IV,  whose 

wife,  whom  the  Egyptians  called  Mutemuaa,  was 

a  native  of  that  countrv.  It  follows  as  a  matter  of 

%/ 

course  that  the  influence  of  these  foreign  princesses 
on  the  King  must  have  been  very  considerable  at 
the  Theban  Court,  and  they  and  the  high  officials 
and  ladies  who  came  to  Egypt  with  them  would 
undoubtedly  prefer  the  cult  of  their  native  gods  to 
that  of  Amen  of  Thebes.  Ti'sson,  Amenhetep  IV, 
and  his  sisters  would  soon  learn  their  religious  views, 
and  the  prince's  hatred  of  Amen  and  of  his  arrogant 
priesthood  probably  dates  from  the  time  when  he 
came  in  contact  with  the  princesses  of  Mitanni, 
and  learned  to  know  Mithras,  Indra,  Varuna  and 

1  See  No.  49707  in  the  British  Museum. 


TUTANKHAMEN 


70 

other  Aryan  gods,  whose  cults  in  many  respects 
resembled  those  of  Horus,  Ra,  Tern  and  other 
Egyptian  solar  gods. 

During  the  early  years  of  his  reign  Amenhetep 
spent  a  great  deal  of  his  time  in  hunting,  and  to 
commemorate  his  exploits  in  the  desert  he  caused 
two  groups  of  large  scarabs  to  be  made.  On  the 
bases  of  these  were  cut  details  of  his  hunts  and  the 
numbers  of  the  beasts  he  slew.  One  group  of  them, 
the  “  Hunt  Scarabs/'  tells  us  that  a  message  came 
to  him  saying  that  a  herd  of  wild  cattle  had  been 
sighted  in  Lower  Egypt.  Without  delay  he  set 
off  in  a  boat,  and  having  sailed  all  night  arrived 
in  the  morning  near  the  place  where  they  were. 
All  the  people  turned  out  and  made  an  enclosure 
with  stakes  and  ropes,  and  then,  in  true  African 
fashion,  surrounded  the  herd  and  with  cries  and 
shouts  drove  the  terrified  beasts  into  it.  On  the 
occasion  which  the  scarabs  commemorate  170  wild 
cattle  were  forced  into  the  enclosure,  and  then  the 
King  in  his  chariot  drove  in  among  them  and 
killed  56  of  them.  A  few  days  later  he  slew  20 
more.  This  battue  took  place  in  the  second  year 
of  Amenhetep's  reign.1 

The  other  group  of  “  Hunt  Scarabs  ”  was  made  in 
the  tenth  year  of  his  reign,  and  after  enumerating  the 
names  and  titles  of  Amenhetep  and  his  wife  Ti,  the 
inscription  states  that  from  the  first  to  the  tenth 
year  of  his  reign  he  shot  with  his  own  hand  102  fierce 
lions.3  No  other  King  of  Egypt  used  the  scarab  as 
a  vehicle  for  advertising  his  personal  exploits  and 
private  affairs.  That  Amenhetep  had  some  reason 
for  so  doing  seems  clear,  but  unless  it  was  to 
secularize  the  sacred  symbol  of  Khepera,  or  to  cast 

1  For  a  fine  example  of  this  group  of  scarabs,  see  No.  55585 
in  the  British  Museum. 

2  Fine  examples  in  the  British  Museum  are  Nos.  4095, 
12520,  24169  and  29438. 


To  face  p.  70. 


Plate  V /. 


Large  steatite  scarab  recording  the  slaughter  of  two  hundred  and 
twenty-six  wild  cattle  by  Amenhetep  III.  British  Museum  (Fourth 
Egyptian  Room,  Table-case  B,  No.  555^5)* 


CULT  OF  ATEN 


7i 

good-natured  ridicule  on  some  phase  of  native 
Egyptian  belief  which  he  thought  lightly  of,  this 
use  of  the  scarab  seems  inexplicable. 

The  reign  of  Amenhetep  III  stands  alone  in 
Egyptian  History.  When  he  ascended  the  throne 
he  found  himself  absolute  lord  of  Syria,  Phoenicia, 
Egypt  and  the  Egyptian  Sudan  as  far  south  as 
Napata.  His  great  ancestor  Thothmes  III  had 
conquered  the  world,  as  known  to  the  Egyptians, 
for  him.  Save  in  the  “  war  "  which  he  waged  in 
Nubia  in  the  fifth  year  of  his  reign  he  never  needed 
to  strike  a  blow  to  keep  what  Thothmes  III  had 
won.  And  this  “  war  ”  was  relatively  an  unim¬ 
portant  affair.  It  was  provoked  by  the  revolt 
of  a  few  tribes  who  lived  near  the  foot  of  the 
Second  Cataract,  and  according  to  the  evidence 
of  the  sandstone  stele,  which  was  set  up  by  Amen¬ 
hetep  to  commemorate  his  victory,  he  only  took 
740  prisoners  and  killed  312  rebels.1  In  the  Sudan 
he  made  a  royal  progress  through  the  country, 
and  the  princes  and  nobles  not  only  acclaimed  him 
as  their  over-lord  but  worshipped  him  as  their 
god.  And  year  by  year,  under  the  direction  of  the 
Egyptian  Viceroy  of  Kash,  they  dispatched  to  him 
in  Thebes  untold  quantities  of  gold,  precious  stones, 
valuable  woods,  skins  of  beasts,  and  slaves.  When 
he  visited  Phoenicia,  Syria,  and  the  countries  round 
about  he  was  welcomed  and  acknowledged  by  the 
shekhs  and  their  tribes  as  their  king,  and  they 
paid  their  tribute  unhesitatingly.  The  great  inde¬ 
pendent  chiefs  of  Babylonia,  Assyria,  and  Mitanni 
vied  with  each  other  in  seeking  his  friendship, 
and  probably  the  happiest  times  of  his  pleasure- 

1  The  stele  was  made  by  Merimes,  Viceroy  of  the  Northern 
Sudan,  and  set  up  by  him  at  Samnah,  some  30  miles  south  of 
Wadi  Half  ah.  It  is  now  in  the  British  Museum.  (Northern 
Egyptian  Gallery,  No.  411,  Bay  6.)  An  illustration  of  it 
will  be  found  in  the  Guide ,  p.  115. 


72  TUTANKHAMEN 

loving  life  were  the  periods  which  he  spent  among 
his  Mesopotamian  friends  and  allies.  His  joy  in 
hunting  the  lion  in  the  desert  south  of  Sinjar  and 
in  the  thickets  by  the  river  Khabur  can  be  easily 
imagined,  and  his  love  for  the  chase  would  gain  him 
many  friends  among  the  shekhs  of  Mesopotamia. 
His  visits  to  Western  Asia  stimulated  trade,  for 
caravans  could  travel  to  and  from  Egypt  without 
let  or  hindrance,  and  in  those  days  merchants  and 
traders  from  the  islands  and  coasts  of  the  Mediter¬ 
ranean  flocked  to  Egypt,  where  gold  was  as  dust 
for  abundance. 

Amenhetep  devoted  a  large  portion  of  the 
wealth  which  he  had  inherited,  and  the  revenues 
which  he  received  annually  from  tributary  peoples, 
to  enlarging  and  beautifying  the  temples  of 
Thebes.  He  had  large  ideas,  and  loved  great 
and  splendid  effects,  and  he  spared  neither  labour 
nor  expense  in  creating  them.  He  employed  the 
greatest  architects  and  engineers  and  the  best 
workmen,  and  he  gave  them  a  “  free  hand,” 
much  as  Hatshepsut  did  to  her  architect  Senmut. 
On  the  east  bank  he  made  great  additions  to  the 
temple  of  Karnak,  and  built  an  avenue  from  the 
river  to  the  temple,  and  set  up  obelisks  and 
statues  of  himself.  He  completed  the  temple  of 
Mut  and  made  a  sacred  lake  on  which  religious 
processions  in  boats  might  take  place.  He  joined 
the  temples  of  Karnak  and  Luxor  by  an  avenue 
of  kriosphinxes,  each  holding  a  figure  of  himself 
between  the  paws,  and  at  Luxor  he  built  the 
famous  colonnade,  which  is  to  this  day  one  of 
the  finest  objects  of  its  kind  in  Egypt.  On  the 
west  bank  he  built  a  magnificent  funerary  temple, 
and  before  its  pylon  he  set  up  a  pair  of  obelisks 
and  the  two  colossal  statues  of  himself  which 
are  now  known  as  the  “  Colossi  of  Memnon.” 
A  road  led  from  the  river  to  the  temple,  and  each 


CULT  OF  ATEN 


73 

side  of  it  was  lined  with  stone  figures  of  jackals. 
He  also  built  on  the  Island  of  Elephantine  a 
temple  in  honour  of  Khnemu,  the  great  god  of 
the  First  Cataract,  and,  as  already  said,  he  rebuilt 
and  added  largely  to  the  temple  which  had  been 
founded  by  Thothmes  III  at  Sulb.  All  these 
temples  were  provided  with  metal-plated  doors, 
parts  of  which  seem  to  have  been  decorated  with 
rich  inlays,  and  colour  was  used  freely  in  the 
scheme  of  decoration.  The  means  at  the  king's 
disposal  enabled  him  to  employ  unlimited  labour, 
and  most  of  his  subjects  must  have  gained  their 
livelihood  by  working  for  Amen  and  the  king. 
Under  such  patrons  as  these  the  Arts  and  Crafts 
flourished,  and  artificers  in  stone,  wood,  brass,  and 
faience  produced  works  the  like  of  which  had 
never  before  been  seen  in  Egypt.  Throughout  his 
reign  Amenhetep  corresponded  with  his  friends 
in  Babylonia,  Mitanni,  and  Syria,  and  the  arrival 
and  departure  of  the  royal  envoys  gave  oppor¬ 
tunity  for  dispensing  lavish  hospitality,  and  for 
the  display  of  wealth  and  all  that  it  produces. 
The  receptions  in  his  beautifully  decorated  palace 
on  the  west  bank  of  the  river  must  have  been 
splendid  functions,  such  as  the  Oriental  loves. 
The  king  spent  his  wealth  royally ;  and  in  many 
ways,  probably  as  a  result  of  the  Mitannian 
blood  which  flowed  in  his  veins,  his  character 
was  more  that  of  a  rich,  luxury-loving,  easy¬ 
going  and  benevolently  despotic  Mesopotamian 
Shekh  than  that  of  a  king  of  Egypt.  Very  aptly 
has  Hall  styled  him  “  Amenhetep  the  Magnifi¬ 
cent."  He  died  after  a  reign  of  about  thirty-six 
years,  and  was  buried  in  his  tomb  in  the  Western 
Valley  at  Thebes.  On  the  walls  of  the  chambers 
there  are  scenes  representing  the  king  worshipping 
the  gods  of  the  Underworld,  and  on  the  ceiling 
are  some  very  interesting  astronomical  paintings. 


74  TUTANKHAMEN 

The  tomb  was  unfinished  when  the  king  was  buried 
in  it.  It  was  pillaged  by  the  professional  robbers 
of  tombs,  and  the  Government  of  the  day  removed 
his  mummy  to  the  tomb  of  Amenhetep  II,  where 
it  was  found  by  Loret  in  1899.  Thus  whatever 
views  Amenhetep  III  may  have  held  about  Aten, 
he  was  buried  in  Western  Thebes,  with  all  the 
pomp  and  ceremony  befitting  an  orthodox  Pharaoh. 


DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  CULT 
OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV. 

Amenhetep  III  was  succeeded  by  his  son  by 
his  beloved  wife  Ti,  who  came  to  the  throne 
under  the  name  of  Amenhetep  IV.  He  reigned 
about  seventeen  years,  and  died  probably  before 
he  was  thirty.  The  accuracy  of  the  latter  part 
of  this  statement  depends  upon  the  evidence 
derived  from  the  mummy  of  a  young  man  which 
was  found  in  the  Tomb  of  Queen  Ti,  and  is  generally 
believed  to  be  that  of  Amenhetep  IV.  It  is  thought 
that  this  mummy  was  taken  from  a  royal  tomb 
at  Tall  al-'Amarnah  in  mistake  for  that  of  Ti, 
and  transported  to  Thebes,  where  it  was  buried 
as  her  mummy.  Dr.  Elliot  Smith  examined  the 
skeleton,  and  decided  that  it  was  that  of  a  man 

25  or  26  years  of  age,  “  without  excluding  the 
possibility  that  he  may  have  been  several  years 
older.”  His  evidence1  is  very  important,  for  he 
adds,  “  The  cranium,  however,  exhibits  in  an 
unmistakable  manner  the  distortion  characteristic 
of  a  condition  of  hydrocephalus.”  So  then  if 
the  skeleton  be  that  of  Amenhetep  IV,  the  king 
suffered  from  water  on  the  brain  ;  and  if  he  was 

26  years  old  when  he  died  he  must  have  begun 
to  reign  at  the  age  of  nine  or  ten.  But  there  is 
the  possibility  that  he  did  not  begin  to  reign 
until  he  was  a  few  years  older. 

Even  had  his  father  lived,  he  was  not  the 
kind  of  man  to  teach  his  son  to  emulate  the 
deeds  of  warrior  Pharaohs  like  Thothmes  III, 


1  See  Davis,  The  Tomb  of  Queen  Tiyi ,  London,  1910. 


76  TUTANKHAMEN 

and  there  was  no  great  official  to  instruct 
him  in  the  arts  of  war,  for  the  long  peaceful 
reign  of  Amenhetep  III  made  the  Egyptians 
forget  that  the  ease  and  luxury  which  they 
then  enjoyed  had  been  purchased  by  the  arduous 
raids  and  wars  of  their  forefathers.  To  all  intents 
and  purposes,  Ti  ruled  Egypt  for  several  years 
after  her  husband's  death,  and  the  boy-king 
did  for  a  time  at  least  what  his  mother  told  him. 
His  wife,  Nefertiti,  who  was  his  father's  daughter 
probably  by  a  Mesopotamian  woman,  was  no 
doubt  chosen  for  him  by  his  mother,  and  it  is 
quite  clear  from  the  wall-paintings  at  Tall  al- 
‘Amarnah  that  he  was  very  much  under  their 
influence.  His  nurse's  husband,  Ai,  was  a  priest 
of  Aten,  and  during  his  early  years  he  absorbed 
from  this  group  of  persons  the  fundamentals  of 
the  cult  of  Aten  and  much  knowledge  of  the 
religious  beliefs  of  the  Mitannian  ladies  at  the 
Egyptian  Court.  These  sank  into  his  mind  and 
fructified,  with  the  result  that  he  began  to 
abominate  not  only  Amen,  the  great  god  of  Thebes, 
but  all  the  old  gods  and  goddesses  of  Egypt, 
with  the  exception  of  the  solar  gods  of  Heliopolis. 
In  many  respects  these  gods  resembled  the 
Aryan  gods  worshipped  by  his  grandmother's 
people,  especially  Varuna,  to  whom,  as  to  Ra, 
human  sacrifices  were  sometimes  offered,  and  to 
them  his  sympathy  inclined.  But  besides  this  he 
saw,  as  no  doubt  many  others  saw,  that  the  priests 
of  Amen  were  usurping  royal  prerogatives,  and 
by  their  wealth  and  astuteness  were  becoming  the 
dominant  power  in  the  land.  Even  at  that  time 
the  revenues  of  Amen  could  hardly  be  told, 
and  the  power  of  his  priests  pervaded  the  kingdom 
from  Napata  in  the  South  to  Syria  in  the  North. 

During  the  first  five  or  six  years  of  his  reign 
Amenhetep  IV,  probably  as  the  result  of  the 


7  b  face  p.  76 


Plate  VII. 


Portion  of  a  painted  stone  tablet  with  a  portrait  figure  of  Amenhetep  IV 
in  hollow  relief.  On  him  shine  the  rays  of  Aten  which  terminate  in  human 
hands.  British  Museum,  No.  24431. 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV  77 

skilful  guidance  of  his  mother,  made  little  or  no 
change  in  the  government  of  the  country.  But 
his  actions  in  the  sixth  and  following  years  of  his 
reign  prove  that  whilst  he  was  still  a  mere  boy  he 
was  studying  religious  problems  with  zeal,  and 
with  more  than  the  usual  amount  of  boyish  under¬ 
standing.  He  must  have  been  precocious  and 
clever,  with  a  mind  that  worked  swiftly ;  and  he 
possessed  a  determined  will  and  very  definite 
religious  convictions  and  a  fearless  nature.  It 
is  also  clear  that  he  did  not  lightly  brook  opposi¬ 
tion,  and  that  he  believed  sincerely  in  the  truth 
and  honesty  of  his  motives  and  actions.  But  with 
all  these  gifts  he  lacked  a  practical  knowledge 
of  men  and  things.  He  never  realized  the  true 
nature  of  the  duties  which  as  king  he  owed  to 
his  country  and  people,  and  he  never  understood 
the  realities  of  life.  He  never  learnt  the  kingcraft 
of  the  Pharaohs,  and  he  failed  to  see  that  only 
a  warrior  could  hold  what  warriors  had  won  for 
him.  Instead  of  associating  himself  with  men 
of  action,  he  sat  at  the  feet  of  Ai  the  priest,  and 
occupied  his  mind  with  religious  speculations ;  and 
so,  helped  by  his  adoring  mother  and  kinswomen,  he 
gradually  became  the  courageous  fanatic  that  the 
tombs  and  monuments  of  Egypt  show  him  to 
have  been.  His  physical  constitution  and  the 
circumstances  of  his  surroundings  made  him 
what  he  was.  In  recent  years  he  has  been  de¬ 
scribed  by  such  names  as  “  great  idealist,”  “  great 
reformer,”  the  ”  world's  first  revolutionist,”  the 
"  first  individual  in  human  history,”  etc.  But,  in 
view  of  the  known  facts  of  history,  and  Dr.  Elliot 
Smith’s  remarks  quoted  above  on  the  distortion 
of  the  skull  of  Amenhetep  IV,  we  are  fully  justified 
in  wondering  with  Dr.  Hall  if  the  king  “  was  not 

really  half  insane.”1  None  but  a  man  half  insane 

% 

1  Ancient  History  of  the  Near  East,  p.  298. 


1 


78  TUTANKHAMEN 

would  have  been  so  blind  to  facts  as  to  attempt 
to  overthrow  Amen  and  his  worship,  round  which 
the  whole  of  the  social  life  of  the  country  centred.  He 


Aten,  the  great  god,  lord  of  heaven,  from  whom  proceeds  “life” 
beneath  is  Amenhetep  IV  who  is  here  represented  conventionally  as  a  Pharaoh. 


suffered  from  religious  madness  at  least,  and  spiritual 
arrogance  and  self-sufficiency  made  him  oblivious  to 
everything  except  his  own  feelings  and  emotions. 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMEN  HETEP  IV  79 

Once  having  made  up  his  mind  that  Amen 
and  all  the  other  “  gods  ”  of  Egypt  must  be 
swept  away,  Amenhetep  IV  determined  to  under¬ 
take  this  work  without  delay.  After  years  of 
thought  he  had  come  to  the  conclusion  that  only 
the  solar  gods,  Tern,  Ra  and  Horus  of  the  Two 
Horizons  were  worthy  of  veneration,  and  that 
some  form  of  their  worship  must  take  the  place 
of  that  of  Amen.  The  form  of  the  Sun-god  which 
he  chose  for  worship  was  Aten,  i.e.,  the  solar 
Disk,  which  was  the  abode  of  Tern  and  later  of  Ra 
of  Heliopolis.  But  to  him  the  Disk  was  not  only 
the  abode  of  the  Sun-god,  it  was  the  god  himself, 
who,  by  means  of  the  heat  and  light  which 
emanated  from  his  own  body,  gave  life  to  every¬ 
thing  on  the  earth.  To  Aten  Amenhetep  ascribed 
the  attributes  of  the  old  gods,  Tern,  Ra,  Horus, 
Ptah,  and  even  of  Amen,  and  he  proclaimed  that 
nten  was  “  One  ”  and  “  Alone.”  But  this  had  also 
been  proclaimed  by  all  the  priesthoods  of  the  old 
gods,  Tern,  Khepera,  Khnem,  Ra,  and,  later,  of 
Amen.  The  worshippers  of  every  great  god  in 
Egypt  had  from  time  immemorial  declared  that 
their  god  was  “One.”  “Oneness”  was  an  attribute, 
it  would  seem,  of  everything  that  was  worshipped 
in  Egypt,  just  as  it  is  in  some  parts  of  India. 
It  is  inconceivable  that  Amenhetep  IV  knew  of 
the  existence  of  other  suns  besides^ the  sun  he 
saw,  and  it  was  obvious  that  Aten,  the  solar  disk, 
was  one  alone,  and  without  counterpart  or  equal. 
Some  light  is  thrown  upon  Amenhetep’s  views 
as  to  the  nature  of  his  god  by  the  title  which  he 
gave  him.  This  title  is  written  within  two  car- 
touches  and  reads  : — 

“  The  Living  Horus  of  the  two  horizons, 
exalted  in  the  Eastern  Horizon  in  his 
name  of  Shu-who-is-in-the-Disk.” 


8o 


TUTANKHAMEN 


It  is  followed  by  the  words,  “  ever-living, 
eternal,  great  living  Disk,  he  who  is  in  the  Set 
Festival,1  lord  of  the  Circle  (i.e.,  everything  which 
the  Disk  shines  on  in  every  direction),  lord  of 
the  Disk,  lord  of  heaven,  lord  of  the  earth/' 
Amenhetep  IV  worshipped  Homs  of  the  two 
horizons  as  the  “  Shu  who  was  in  the  disk."  If 
we  are  to  regard  “  Shu  "  as  an  ordinary  noun, 
we  must  translate  it  by  “  heat,"  or  “  heat  and 
light,"  for  the  word  has  these  meanings.  In 
this  case  Amenhetep  worshipped  the  solar  heat, 
or  the  heat  and  light  which  were  inherent  in  the 
Disk.  Now,  we  know  from  the  Pyramid  Texts 
that  Tern  or  Tem-Ra  created  a  god  and  a  goddess 
from  the  emanations  or  substance  of  his  own 

V 

body,  and  that  they  were  called  “  Shu "  and 
“  Tefnut,"  the  former  being  the  heat  radiated 
from  the  body  of  the  god,  and  the  latter  the  mois¬ 
ture.  Shu  and  Tefnut  created  Geb  (the  earth) 
and  Nut  (the  sky),  and  they  in  turn  produced 
Osiris,  the  god  of  the  river  Nile,  Set,  the  god  of 
natural  decay  and  death,  and  their  shadowy 
counterparts,  Isis  and  Nephthys.  But,  if  we 
regard  “  Shu  "  as  a  proper  name  in  the  title  of 
Amenhetep's  god,  we  get  the  same  result,  and  can 
only  assume  that  the  king  deified  the  heat  of  the 
sun  and  worshipped  it  as  the  one,  eternal,  creative, 
fructifying  and  life-sustaining  force.  The  old 
Heliopolitan  tradition  made  Tern  or  Tem-Ra,  or 
Khepera,  the  creator  of  Aten  the  Disk,  but  this 
view  Amenhetep  IV  rejected,  and  he  asserted 
that  the  Disk  was  self-created  and  self-subsistent. 
The  common  symbol  of  the  solar  gods  was  a 

1  The  object  of  this  festival  seems  to  have  been  to  prolong 
the  life  of  the  king,  who  dressed  himself  as  Osiris,  and  assumed 
the  attributes  of  Osiris,  and  by  means  of  the  rites  and  cere¬ 
monies  performed  became  absorbed  into  the  god.  In  this 
way  the  king  renewed  his  life  and  divinity. 


Portion  of  a  head  of  a  portrait  figure  of  Amenhetep  IV. 

British  Museum,  No.  1 3366. 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV  81 

disk  encircled  by  a  serpent,  but  when  Amenhetep 
adopted  the  disk  as  the  symbol  of  his  god,  he 
abolished  the  serpent  and  treated  the  disk  in  a 
new  and  original  fashion.  From  the  disk,  the 
circumference  of  which  is  sometimes  hung  round 

with  symbols  of  “  life,”  ,  he  made  a  series 

of  rays  to  descend,  and  at  the  end  of  each  ray  was 


The  frog-headed  goddess  Heqit,  one  of  the  Eight 
Members  of  the  Ogdoad  of  Thoth. 


a  hand,  as  if  the  ray  was  an  arm,  bestowing 
“  life  ”  on  the  earth.  This  symbol  never  became 
popular  in  the  country,  and  the  nation  as  a  whole 
preferred  to  believe  that  the  Sun-god  travelled 
across  the  sky  in  two  boats,  the  Sektet  and  the 
Atet.  The  form  of  the  old  Heliopolitan  cult  of  the 
Sun-god  that  was  evolved  by  Amenhetep  could 
never  have  appealed  to  the  Egyptians,  for  it  was 

F 


82  TUTANKHAMEN 

too  philosophical  in  character  and  was  probably 
based  upon  esoteric  doctrines  that  were  of  foreign 
origin.  Her  and  Suti,  the  two  great  overseers  of 
the  temples  of  Amen  at  Thebes,  were  content  to 
follow  the  example  of  their  king  Amenhetep  III, 
and  bow  the  knee  to  Aten  and,  like  other  officials, 
to  sing  a  hymn  in  his  praise.  But  they  knew  the 
tolerant  character  of  their  master's  religious  views, 
and  that  outwardly  at  least  he  was  a  loyal  follower 
of  Amen,  whose  blood,  according  to  the  dogma 
of  his  priests,  flowed  in  the  king’s  veins.  To 
Amenhetep  III  a  god  more  or  less  made  no 
difference,  and  he  considered  it  quite  natural  that 
every  priesthood  should  extol  and  magnify  the 
power  of  its  god.  He  was  content  to  be  a  counter¬ 
part  of  Amen,  and  to  receive  the  official  worship 
due  to  him  as  such.  But  with  his  son  it  was 
different.  The  heat  of  Aten  gave  him  life  and 
maintained  it  in  him,  and  whilst  that  was  in  him 
Aten  was  in  him.  The  life  of  Aten  was  his  life, 
and  his  life  was  Aten’s  life,  and  therefore  he  was 
Aten  ;  his  spiritual  arrogance  made  him  believe 
that  he  was  an  incarnation  of  Aten,  i.e.y  that  he 
was  God — not  a  mere  “  god  ”  or  one  of  the  "  gods  ” 
of  Egypt — and  that  his  acts  were  divine.  He  felt 
therefore  that  he  had  no  need  to  go  to  the  temple 
of  Amen  to  receive  the  daily  supply  of  the  “  fluid 
of  life,”  which  not  only  maintained  the  physical 
powers  of  kings,  but  gave  them  wisdom  and  under¬ 
standing  to  rule  their  country.  Still  less  would 
he  allow  the  high  priest  of  Amen  to  act  as  his 
vicar.  Finally  he  determined  that  Amen  and  the 
gods  must  be  done  away  and  all  the  dogmas  and 
doctrines  of  their  priesthoods  abolished,  and 
that  Aten  must  be  proclaimed  the  One,  self- 
created,  self-subsisting,  self-existing  god,  whose 
son  and  deputy  he  was. 

Without,  apparently,  considering  the  probable 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV  83 

effect  of  his  decision  when  translated  into  action, 
he  began  to  build  the  temple  of  Gem-Aten  in 

Per-Aten,  [  '  (j  t  at  Thebes. 


C73 


In  it  was  a  chamber  or  shrine,  in  which  the  ben, 
or  benben,  i.e.,  the  “  Sun-stone/'  was  placed,  and 
in  doing  this  he  followed  the  example  of  the  priests 
of  Heliopolis.  The  site  he  selected  for  this  temple 
was  a  piece  of  ground  about  half  way  between 
the  Temple  of  Karnak  and  the  Temple  of  Luxor. 
He  decided  that  this  temple  should  be  the  centre 
of  the  worship  of  Aten,  which  should  henceforward 
be  the  one  religion  of  his  country.  The  effect 
of  the  king's  action  on  the  priests  of  Amen  and 
the  people  of  Thebes  can  be  easily  imagined  when 
we  remember  that  with  the  downfall  of  Amen 
their  means  of  livelihood  disappeared.  But  Amen¬ 
hetep  was  the  king,  the  blood  of  the  Sun-god 
was  in  his  veins,  and  Pharaoh  was  the  master  and 
owner  of  all  Egypt,  and  of  every  person  and  thing 
in  it.  Priests  and  people  were  alike  unable  to 
resist  his  will,  and,  though  they  cursed  Aten  and 
his  fanatical  devotee,  they  could  not  prevent  the 
confiscation  of  the  revenues  of  Amen  and  the 
abolition  of  his  services.  Not  content  with  this, 
Amenhetep  caused  the  name  of  Amen  to  be 
obliterated  on  the  monuments,  and  in  some  cases 
even  his  father’s  name,  and  the  word  for  “  gods  " 

uni  was  frequently  cut  out.  Not  only  was 

there  to  be  no  Amen,  but  there  were  to  be  no 
gods  ;  Aten  was  the  only  god  that  was  to  be 
worshipped. 

The  result  of  the  promulgation  of  this  decree 
can  be  easily  imagined.  Thebes  became  filled  with 
the  murmurings  of  all  classes  of  the  followers  of 
Amen,  and  when  the  temple  of  Aten  was  finished, 
and  the  worship  of  the  new  god  was  inaugurated,, 

f  2 


TUTANKHAMEN 


84 


these  murmurings  were  changed  to  threats  and 
curses,  and  disputes  between  the  Amenites  and 
Atenites  filled  the  city.  What  exactly  happened 
is  not  known  and  never  will  be  known,  but  the 
result  of  the  confusion  and  uproar  was  that 
Amenhetep  IV  found  residence  in  Thebes  im¬ 
possible,  and  he  determined  to  leave  it,  and  to 
remove  the  Court  elsewhere.  Whether  he  was 
driven  to  take  this  step  through  fear  for  the 
personal  safety  of  himself  and  his  family,  or 
whether  he  wished  still  further  to  insult  and 
injure  Amen  and  his  priesthood,  cannot  be  said, 
but  the  reason  that  induced  him  to  abandon  his 
capital  city  and  to  destroy  its  importance  as 
such  must  have  been  very  strong  and  urgent. 
Having  decided  to  leave  Thebes  he  sought  for  a 
site  for  his  new  capital,  which  he  intended  to 
make  a  City  of  God,  and  found  it  in  the  north, 
at  a  place  which  is  about  160  miles  to  the  south 
of  Cairo  and  50  miles  to  the  north  of  Asyut. 
At  this  point  the  hills  on  the  east  bank  of  the 
Nile  enclose  a  sort  of  plain  which  is  covered  with 
fine  yellow  sand.  The  soil  was  virgin,  and  had 
never  been  defiled  with  temples  or  other  buildings 
connected  with  the  gods  of  Egypt  whom  Amen¬ 
hetep  IV  hated,  and  the  plain  itself  was  eminently 
suitable  for  the  site  of  a  town,  for  its  surface  was 
unbroken  by  hills  or  reefs  of  limestone  or  sand¬ 
stone.  This  plain  is  nearly  three  miles  from  the 
Nile  in  its  widest  part  and  is  about  five  miles 
in  length.  The  plain  on  the  other  side  of  the  river, 
which  extended  from  the  Nile  to  the  western 
hills,  was  very  much  larger  than  that  on  the 
east  bank,  and  was  also  included  by  the  king  in 
the  area  of  his  new  capital.  He  set  up  large 
stelae  on  the  borders  of  it  to  mark  the  limits  of 
the  territory  of  Aten,  and  had  inscriptions  cut 
upon  them  stating  this  fact. 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV  85 


We  have  already  seen  that  Amenhetep  IV  had, 
whenever  possible,  caused  the  name  of  Amen 
to  be  chiselled  out  from  stelae,  statues,  and  other 
monuments,  and  even  from  his  father’s  cartouches, 
whilst  at  the  same  time  the  name  of  Amen  formed 
part  of  his  name  as  the  son  of  Ra.  It  was  easy 
to  remedy  this  inconsistency,  and  he  did  so 
by  changing  his  name  from  Amenhetep,  which 
means  “  Amen  is  content,”  to  Aakhunaten, 


a  name  which  by  analogy 


should  mean  something  like  “  Aten  is  content.” 
This  meaning  has  already  been  suggested  by  more 
than  one  Egyptologist,  but  there  is  still  a  good 
deal  to  be  said  for  keeping  the  old  translation, 
“  Spirit  of  Aten.”  I  transcribe  the  new  name  of 
Amenhetep  IV,  Aakhunaten,  not  with  any  wish 
to  add  another  to  the  many  transliterations  that 
have  been  proposed  for  it,  but  because  it  repre¬ 
sents  with  considerable  accuracy  the  hieroglyphs. 
The  Pyramid  Texts  show  that  the  phonetic  value 


was 


or 


The  first  sign 


represents  a  short  vowel,  a,  e  or  t;  the  second 
a,  like  the  Hebrew  aleph,  the  third  kh,  and  the 


fourth  u  ; 


therefore  the  phonetic  value 


in  Pyramid  times  was  dakh,  or  dakhu,  but  in  later 
times  the  a  [  was  probably  dropped,  and  then 


the  value  of 


would  be  akh ,  as  Birch  read  it 


sixty  years  ago.  If  this  were  so,  the  name  will 
be  correctly  transliterated  by  “  Akhenaten.”  How 
the  name  was  pronounced  we  do  not  know  and 
never  shall  know,  but  there  is  no  good  ground  for 
thinking  that  “  Ikhnaton  ”  or  Ikh-en-aton  ” 
represents  the  correct  pronunciation.  In  passing 


86  TUTANKHAMEN 

we  may  note  that  Aten  has  nothing  to  do  with 
the  Semitic  ’adhon,  “  lord/' 

At  this  time  Amenhetep  IV  adopted  two_  titles 
in  connection  with  his  new  name,  i.e.t  "  Ankh- 
em-Maat  ”  and  “  Aa-em-aha-f,”  the  former  mean¬ 
ing,  “  Living  in  Truth  ”  and  the  latter  "  great 
in  his  life  period.”  What  is  meant  exactly  by 


Thoth,  lord  of  the  writing  of  the 
god,  i.e.y  hieroglyphs.  He  was  the 
mind  of  the  primeval  God,  and 
translated  into  speech  the  will  of 
this  God. 


Maat,  the  goddess  of  truth, 
reality,  law,  both  physical  and 
spiritual,  order,  rectitude,  upright¬ 
ness,  integrity,  etc. 


“  living  in  truth  ”  is  not  clear.  Maat  means 
what  is  straight,  true,  real,  law,  both  physical 
and  moral,  the  truth,  reality,  etc.  He  can  hardly 
have  meant  “  living  in  or  by  the  law,”  for  he  was 
a  law  to  himself,  but  he  may  have  meant  that  in 
Atenism  he  had  found  the  truth  or  the  "  real  ” 
thing,  and  that  all  else  in  religion  was  a  phantom, 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMEN  HETEP  IV  87 


a  sham.  Aten  lived  in  madt,  or  in  truth  and  reality, 
and  the  king,  having  the  essence  of  Aten  in  him, 
did  the  same.  The  exact  meaning  which  Amen¬ 
hetep  IV  attached  to  the  other  title,  “  great  in 
his  life-period,”  is  also  not  clear.  He,  as  was 
every  Pharaoh  who  preceded  him,  was  a  “  son 
of  Ra,”  but  he  did  not  claim,  as  they  did,  to 
“  live  like  Ra  for  ever/’  and  only  asserted  that 
his  life-period  was  great.  Amenhetep  IV  called 


i.e., 

his 


his  new  capital  Aakhutaten,  (j 

“  the  Horizon  of  Aten,”  and  he  and 
followers  regarded  it  as  the  one  place  in  which 
Aten  was  to  be  found.  It  was  +0  them  the  visible 
symbol  of  the  splendour  and  benevolence  and 
love  of  the  god,  the  sight  of  it  rejoiced  the  hearts 
of  all  beholders,  and  its  loveliness,  they  declared, 
was  beyond  compare.  It  was  to  them  what 
Babylon  was  to  the  Babylonians,  Jerusalem  to 
the  Hebrews,  and  Makkah  to  the  Arabs ;  to  live 
there  and  to  behold  the  king,  who  was  Aten's 
own  son,  bathed  in  the  many-handed,  life-giving 
rays  of  Aten,  was  to  enjoy  a  foretaste  of  heaven, 
though  none  of  the  writers  of  the  hymns  to  Aten 
deign  to  tell  us  what  the  heaven  to  which  they 
refer  so  glibly  was  like.  Having  taken  up  his 
abode  in  this  city,  Amenhetep  set  to  work  to 
organize  the  cult  of  Aten,  and  to  promulgate  his 
doctrine,  which,  like  all  writers  of  moral  and 
religious  aphorisms,  he  called  his  “  Teaching,” 

°  ,  Sbait. 

Having  appointed  himself  High  Priest,  he, 
curiously  enough,  adopted  the  old  title  of  the 
High  Priest  of  Heliopolis  and  called  himself 


“  Ur-maa,”  i.e .,  the  “  Great  Seer.” 

But  he  did  not  at  the  same  time  institute  the  old 


88 


TUTANKHAMEN 


Amenhetep  IV,  accompanied  by  his  queen  and  family,  making  offerings  to  Aten. 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMEN  HETEP  IV  89 


semi-magical  rites  and  ceremonies  which  the 
holders  of  the  title  in  Heliopolis  performed.  He 
did  not  hold  the  office  very  long,  but  transferred 
it  to  Merira,  one  of  his  loyal  followers. 

When  still  a  mere  boy,  probably  before  he 
ascended  the  throne  and  rejected  his  name  of 
Amenhetep,  he  seems  to  have  dreamed  of  building 
temples  to  Aten,  and  so  when  he  took  up  his 
residence  in  his  new  city  he  at  once  set  to  work 
to  build  a  sanctuary  for  that  god.  Among  his 
devoted  followers  was  one  Bek,  an  architect  and 
master  builder,  who  claims  to  have  been  a  pupil 
of  the  king,  and  who  was  undoubtedly  a  man  of 
great  skill  and  taste.  Him  the  king  sent  to  Sun,  the 
Syene  of  the  Greek  writers,  to  obtain  stone  for 
the  temple  of  Aten,  and  there  is  reason  to  think 
that,  when  the  building  was  finished,  its  walls 
were  most  beautifully  decorated  with  sculptures 
and  pictures  painted  in  bright  colours.  A  second 
temple  to  Aten  was  built  for  the  Queen-mother 
Ti,  and  a  third  for  the  princess  Baktenaten,  one 
of  her  daughters  ;  and  we  should  expect  that  one 
or  more  temples  were  built  in  the  western  half 
of  the  city  across  the  Nile.  With  the  revenues 
filched  from  Amen  Aakhunaten  built  several 
temples  to  Aten  in  the  course  of  his  reign.  Thus  he 
founded  Per-gem-Aten  in  Nubia  at  a  place  in  the 
Third  Cataract ;  Gem-pa-Aten  em  Per-Aten  at 
Thebes ;  Aakhutaten  in  Southern  Anu  (Her- 


monthis)  ;  the  House  of  Aten  ^  jj 

A 


a 

c—j 


WWW 


o 

o 


j!2=  I 


in  Memphis  ;  and  Res  -  Ra  -  em  -  Anu, 
§  .  It  will  be  noticed  that  no  men¬ 


tion  is  made  of  Aten  in  the  name  of  this  last 
temple  of  Aten.  He  also  built  a  temple  to  Aten 
in  Syria,  which  is  mentioned  on  one  of  the  Tall 


go 


TUTANKHAMEN 


Amenhetep  IV  and  his  queen  and  family  worshipping  Aten. 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV  91 

al-‘Amarnah  tablets  in  the  British  Museum  under 

the  form  Hi-na-tu-na  --IT  ^  -4  -1 

As  the  buildings  increased  in  Aakhutaten  and 
the  cult  of  Aten  developed,  the  king's  love  for  his 
new  city  grew,  and  he  devoted  all  his  time  to  the 
worship  of  his  god.  Surrounded  by  his  wife  and 
family  and  their  friends,  and  his  obedient  officials, 
who  seem  to  have  been  handsomely  rewarded  for 


Amenhetep  IV  and  his  Queen  Nefertiti  bestowing  gold  collars  upon 
favourite  courtiers.  Between  the  king  and  queen  is  the  princess  Ankh-s-en-pa- 
Aten,  who  married  Tutankhamen,  and  behind  the  queen  are  two  of  her 
other  daughters. 

their  devotion,  the  king  had  neither  wish  nor 
thought  for  the  welfare  of  his  kingdom,  which 
he  allowed  to  manage  itself.  His  religion  and  his 
domestic  happiness  filled  his  life,  and  the  inclina¬ 
tions  and  wishes  of  the  ladies  of  his  court  had  more 
weight  with  him  than  the  counsels  and  advice  of 
his  ablest  officials.  We  know  nothing  of  the  forms 
and  ceremonies  of  the  Aten  worship,  but  hymns 

1  Babylonian  Room,  Table-Case  F.  No.  72  (29855). 


TUTANKHAMEN 


92 

and  songs  and  choruses  must  have  filled  the  temple 
daily.  And  the  stele  of  Tutankhamen  proves 
(see  p.  9)  that  a  considerable  number  of  dancing 
men  and  acrobats  were  maintained  by  the  king 
in  connection  with  the  service  of  Aten.  Not  only 
was  the  king  no  warrior,  he  was  not  even  a 
lover  of  the  chase.  As  he  had  no  son  to  train  in 
manly  sports  and  to  teach  the  arts  of  government 
and  war,  for  his  offspring  consisted  of  seven 
daughters,1  his  officers  must  have  wondered  how 
long  the  state  in  which  they  were  then  living  would 
last.  The  life  in  the  City  of  Aten  was  no  doubt 
pleasant  enough  for  the  Court  and  the  official 
classes,  for  the  king  was  generous  to  the  officers 
of  his  government  in  the  City,  and,  like  the 
Pharaohs  of  old,  he  gave  them  when  they  died 
tombs  in  the  hills  in  which  to  be  buried.  The  names 
of  many  of  these  officers  are  well  known,  e.g., 
Merira  I,  Merira  II,  Pa-nehsi  (the  Negro),  Hui, 
Aahmes,  Penthu,  Mahu,  Api,  Rames,  Suti,  Nefer- 
kheperu-her-sekheper,  Parennefer,  Tutu,  Ai,  Mai, 
Ani,  etc.2 


1  The  names  of  the  seven  daughters  of  Aakhunaten  were 


1.  A  ten-merit 


it,  ( 


/WWW 

O 


[  {  o  ,  2.  Maket-Aten,  1— -fl  ^ 


/WWW  - H- 


M/WVN 


(  a/qva  ^Jj  >  3.  Ankh-s-en-pa-Aten, 

4.  Nefer  -  neferu  -  Aten  the  little,  (j  "gp  im 

“O. 


5.  Nefer-neferu-Ra 


T?a  0  /wwv\ 

xva,  w  Q 


>°s 


6.  Setep-en- 


7.  Bakt-Aten 


[)  ^ 

I  AAAAAA 

’  H  G 


O  Jl~  Ci 

The  first  daughter  married  her  father’s  co-regent,  Sakara. 
The  second  died  young  and  was  buried  in  a  tomb  in  the 
eastern  hills.  The  third  married  Tutankhaten  (Amen). 

3  The  tombs  of  all  these  have  been  admirably  published 
by  Davies,  The  Rock  Tombs  of  El-Amarna.  Six  vols.  London, 
1903-08. 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV 


93 


Amenhetep  IV  and  his  Queen  Nefertiti  and  some  of  the  daughters  seated  with  the  rays  of  Aten  falling  upon  them.  The  queen 
wears  the  disk,  horns,  and  plumes  of  Hathor  and  Isis.  The  abnormal  development  of  the  lower  part  of  the  body  seems  to  be 
a  characteristic  of  every  member  of  the  royal  family.- 


94  TUTANKHAMEN 

The  tombs  of  these  men  are  different  from  all 
others  of  the  same  class  in  Egypt.  The  walls  are 
decorated  with  pictures  representing  (i)  the 
worship  of  Aten  by  the  king  and  his  mother  ; 

(2)  the  bestowal  of  gifts  on  officials  by  the  king ; 

(3)  the  houses,  gardens  and  estates  of  the  nobles  ; 

(4)  domestic  life,  etc.  The  hieroglyphic  texts  on 
the  walls  of  the  tombs  contain  the  names  of  those 
buried  in  them,  the  names  of  the  offices  which 
they  held  under  the  king,  and  fulsome  adulation 
of  the  king,  and  of  his  goodness,  generosity  and 
knowledge.  Then  there  are  prayers  for  funerary 
offerings,  and  also  Hymns  to  Aten.  The  long 
Hymn  in  the  tomb  of  Ai  is  not  by  the  king,  as 
was  commonly  supposed  ;  it  is  the  best  of  all  the 
texts  of  the  kind  in  these  tombs,  and  many 
extracts  from  it  are  found  in  the  tombs  of  his 
fellow  officials.  A  shorter  Hymn  occurs  in  some 
of  the  tombs,  and  of  this  it  is  probable  that 
Aakhunaten  was  the  author.  We  look  in  vain  for 
the  figures  of  the  old  gods  of  Egypt,  Ra,  Horus, 
Ptah,  Osiris,  Isis,  Anubis,  and  the  cycles  of  the 
gods  of  the  dead  and  of  the  Tuat  (Underworld), 
and  not  a  single  ancient  text,  whether  hymn, 
prayer,  spell,  incantation,  litany,  from  the  Book 
of  the  Dead  in  any  of  its  Recensions  is  to  be  found 
there.  To  the  Atenites  the  tomb  was  a  mere 
hiding  place  for  the  dead  body,  not  a  model  of 
the  4uat,  as  their  ancestors  thought.  Their 
royal  leader  rejected  all  the  old  funerary  Liturgies 
like  the  “  Book  of  Opening  the  Mouth/'  and  the 
“  Liturgy  of  funerary  offerings,"  and  he  treated 
with  silent  contempt  such  works  as  the  “  Book 
of  the  Two  Ways,"  the  “  Book  of  the  Dweller 
in  the  Tuat,"  and  the  “  Book  of  Gates."  Thus 
it  would  appear  that  he  rejected  en  bloc  all  funerary 
rites  and  ceremonies,  and  disapproved  of  all  services 
of  commemoration  of  the  dead,  which  were  so 


To  face  p.  94 


Plate  X 


Two  of  the  daughters  of  Amenhetep  IV. 

Reproduced  by  permission  of  the  Committee  of  the  Egypt  Exploration  Society. 

From  a  bas-relief  now  in  the  Ashmolean  Museum,  Oxford. 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMEN  HETEP  IV  95 

dear  to  the  hearts  of  all  Egyptians.  The  absence 
of  figures  of  Osiris  in  the  tombs  of  his  officials 
and  all  mention  of  this  god  in  the  inscriptions 
found  in  them  suggests  that  he  disbelieved  in  the 
Last  Judgment,  and  in  the  dogma  of  rewards  for 
the  righteous  and  punishments  for  evil  doers. 
If  this  were  so,  the  Field  of  Reeds,  the  Field  of 
the  Grasshoppers,  the  Field  of  Offerings  in  the 


The  four  grandsons  of  Horus  the  Aged.  They  were  the  gods  of  the  four 
cardinal  points,  and  later,  as  the  sons  of  Osiris,  protected  the  viscera  of  the  dead. 

Elysian  Fields,  and  the  Block  of  Slaughter  with 
the  headsman  Shesmu,  the  five  pits  of  the  Tuat, 
and  the  burning  of  the  wicked  were  all  ridiculous 
fictions  to  him.  Perhaps  they  were,  but  they 
were  ineradicably  fixed  in  the  minds  of  his  subjects, 
and  he  gave  them  nothing  to  put  in  the  place  of 
these  fictions.  The  cult  of  Aten  did  not  satisfy 
them,  as  history  shows,  for  right  or  wrong,  the 


g6  TUTANKHAMEN 

Egyptian,  being  of  African  origin,  never  understood 
or  cared  for  philosophical  abstractions.  Another 
question  arises  :  did  the  Atenites  mummify  their 
dead  ?  It  is  clear  from  the  existence  of  the 
tombs  in  the  hills  about  Aakhutaten  that  important 
officials  were  buried ;  but  what  became  of  the 
bodies  of  the  working  class  folk  and  the  poor  ? 
Were  they  thrown  to  the  jackals  “  in  the  bush  ”  ? 
All  this  suggests  that  the  Atenites  adored  and 
enjoyed  the  heat  and  light  which  their  god  poured 
upon  them,  and  that  they  sang  and  danced  and 
praised  his  beneficence,  and  lived  wholly  in  the 
present.  And  they  worshipped  the  triad  of  life, 
beauty  and  colour.  They  abolished  the  con¬ 
ventionality  and  rigidity  in  Egyptian  painting 
and  sculptures  and  introduced  new  colours  into 
their  designs  and  crafts,  and,  freed  from  the 
control  of  the  priesthoods,  artists  and  workmen 
produced  extraordinarily  beautiful  results.  The 
love  of  art  went  hand  in  hand  with  their  religion 
and  was  an  integral  part  of  it.  We  may  trace  its 
influence  in  the  funerary  objects,  even  of  those 
who  believed  in  Osiris  and  were  buried  with  the 
ancient  rites  and  ceremonies,  especially  in  figures, 
vases,  etc.,  made  of  pottery.  Perhaps  the  brightly 
coloured  vignettes,  which  are  found  in  the  great 
rolls  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead  that  were  produced 
at  this  period,  were  painted  by  artists  who  copied 
the  work  of  Atenite  masters. 

Now  whilst  Aakhunaten  was  organizing  and 
developing  the  cult  of  Aten,  and  he  and  his  Court 
and  followers  were  passing  their  days  and  years 
in  worshipping  their  god  and  in  beautifying  their 
houses,  what  was  happening  to  the  rest  of  Egypt  ? 
Tutankhamen  tells  us  that  the  revenues  of  the 
gods  were  diverted  to  the  service  of  Aten,  that  the 
figures  of  the  gods  had  disappeared  from  their 
thrones,  that  the  temples  were  deserted,  and  that 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMEN  HETEP  IV  97 

the  Egyptians  generally  were  living  in  a  state 
of  social  chaos.  For  the  first  twelve  years  or 
so  of  Aakhunaten's  reign  the  tribute  of  the  Nubians 
was  paid,  for  the  Viceroy  of  Nubia  had  at  hand 
means  for  making  the  tribes  bring  gold,  wood, 
slaves,  etc.,  to  him.  In  the  north  of  Egypt  General 


Amenhetep  IV  seated  on  his  portable  lion- throne  beneath  the  rays  of  Aten ; 
he  holds  in  his  hands  the  old  Pharaonic  symbols  of  sovereignty  ^  and 

dominion  jf\- 


Heremheb,  the  Commander-in-Chief,  managed  to 
maintain  his  lord's  authority,  but  there  is  no 
doubt,  as  events  showed  when  he  became  king 
of  Egypt,  that  he  was  not  a  wholly  sincere 
worshipper  of  Aten,  and  that  his  sympathies  lay 
with  the  priesthoods  of  Ptah  of  Memphis  and 

G 


TUTANKHAMEN 


98 

Ra  of  Heliopolis.  The  Memphites  and  the  Helio- 
politans  must  have  resented  bitterly  the  building 
of  temples  to  Aten  in  their  cities,  and  there  can 
be  little  doubt  that  that  astute  soldier  soon  came 
to  an  understanding  with  them.  Moreover,  he 
knew  better  than  his  king  what  was  happening  in 
Syria,  and  how  the  Khabiru  were  threatening 
Phoenicia  from  the  south,  and  how  the  Hittites 
were  consolidating  their  position  in  Northern 
Syria,  and  increasing  their  power  in  all  directions. 
He,  and  every  one  in  Egypt  who  was  watching  the 
course  of  events,  must  have  been  convinced  that 
no  power  which  the  king  could  employ  could 
stop  the  spread  of  the  revolt  in  Western  Asia,  and 
that  the  rule  of  the  Egyptians  there  was  practically 
at  an  end. 

When  the  king  as  Amenhetep  IV  ascended 
the  throne,  all  his  father’s  friends  in  Baby¬ 
lonia,  Assyria,  Mitanni,  the  lands  of  the 
Kheta  and  Cyprus  hastened  to  congratulate 
him,  and  all  were  anxious  to  gain  and  keep  the 
friendship  of  the  new  king  of  Egypt.  Burra- 
buriyash,  king  of  Karduniash,  hoped  that  the 
new  king  and  he  would  always  exchange  presents, 
and  that  the  old  friendship  between  his  country 
and  Egypt  would  be  maintained.  Ashuruballit 
sent  him  gifts  and  asked  for  20  talents  of  gold 
in  return.  Tushratta,  king  of  Mitanni,  addressed 
him  as  “  my  son-in-law,”  sent  greetings  to  Queen 
Ti,  and  spoke  with  pride  of  the  old  friendship 
between  Mitanni  and  Egypt.  He  also  wrote  to 
Queen  Ti,  and  again  refers  to  the  old  friendship. 
But  Aakhunaten  did  not  respond  in  the  manner 
they  expected,  and  letters  sent  by  them  to  him 
later  show  that  the  gifts  which  he  sent  were  mean 
and  poor.  Clearly  he  lacked  the  open-handedness 
and  generosity  of  his  father  Amenhetep  III. 
As  years  went  on,  the  governors  of  the  towns  and 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV  99 

cities  that  were  tributaries  of  Egypt  wrote  to  the 
king  protesting  their  devotion,  fidelity  and  loyalty, 
many  of  them  referring  to  favours  received  and 
asking  for  new  ones.  Very  soon  these  protesta¬ 
tions  of  loyalty  were  coupled  with  requests  for 


The  rays  of  Aten  giving  “  life  ”  to  Amenhetep  IV  whilst  he  is  bestowing 

gifts  on  his  favourite  courtiers. 


Egyptian  soldiers  to  be  sent  to  protect  the  king's 
possessions.  Thus  one  Shuwardata  writes  :  To 
the  king,  my  lord,  my  gods  and  my  Sun.  Thus 
saith  Shuwardata,  the  slave  :  Seven  times  and 
seven  times  did  I  fall  down  at  the  feet  of  the  king 

G  2 


100  TUTANKHAMEN 

my  lord,  both  upon  my  belly  and  upon  my  back. 
Let  the  king,  my  lord,  know  that  I  am  alone,  and 
let  the  king,  my  lord,  send  troops  in  great  multi¬ 
tudes,  let  the  king,  my  lord,  know  this.1 

The  people  of  Tunip,  who  were  vassals  of 
Thothmes  III,  wrote  and  told  the  king  that 
Aziru  had  plundered  an  Egyptian  caravan,  and 
that  if  help  were  not  sent  Tunip  would  fall  as  Ni 
had  already  done.  Rib- Adda  of  Byblos  writes  : 
We  have  no  food  to  eat  and  my  fields  yield  no 
harvest  because  I  cannot  sow  corn.  All  my 
villages  are  in  the  hands  of  the  Khabiru.  I  am 
shut  up  like  a  bird  in  a  cage,  and  there  is  none  to 
deliver  me.  I  have  written  to  the  king,  but  no 
one  heeds.  Why  wilt  thou  not  attend  to  the 
affairs  of  thy  country  ?  That  “  dog/'  Abd- 
Ashratum,  and  the  Khabiri  have  taken  Shigata 
and  Ambi  and  Simyra.  Send  soldiers  and  an 
able  officer.  I  beseech  the  king  not  to  neglect 
this  matter.  Why  is  there  no  answer  to  my 
letters  ?  Send  chariots  and  I  will  try  to  hold 
out,  else  in  two  months’  time  Abd-Ashratum 
will  be  master  of  the  whole  country.  Gebal 
(Byblos)  will  fall,  and  all  the  country  as  far  as 

1  All  these  letters  and  reports  are  written  in  cuneiform 
upon  clay  tablets,  of  which  over  three  hundred  were  found 
by  a  native  woman  at  Tall  al-'Amamah  in  1887-8  Summaries 
of  the  contents  of  those  in  the  British  Museum  were  published 
by  Bezold  and  Budge  in  Tell  el- Amarna  Tablets,  London,  1892, 
and  by  Bezold  in  Oriental  Diplomacy ,  London,  1893.  The  texts 
of  all  the  letters  in  London,  Berlin,  and  Cairo  were  published, 
together  with  a  German  translation  of  them,  by  Winckler  ; 
another  German  translation  was  published  by  Knudtzon. 
The  texts,  with  translations  by  Thureau-Dangin,  of  the  six 
letters  acquired  by  the  Louvre  in  1918,  are  published  in 
Revue  d’ Assy riologie,  Vol.  XIX,  Paris,  1921.  Three  of  the 
letters  are  from  Palestinian  governors  and  two  from  Syrian 
chiefs  ;  the  third  is  by  the  King  of  Egypt  and  is  addressed 
to  Intaruda,  governor  of  Aksaph. 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV  ioi 

Egypt  will  be  in  the  hands  of  the  Khabiri.  We 
have  no  grain  ;  send  grain.  I  have  sent  my 
possessions  to  Tyre,  and  also  my  sister's  daughters 
for  safety.  I  have  sent  my  own  son  to  thee, 
hearken  to  him.  Do  as  thou  wilt  with  me,  but  do 
not  forsake  thy  city  Gebal.  In  former  times  when 
Egypt  neglected  our  city  we  paid  no  tribute  ; 
do  not  thou  neglect  it.  I  have  sold  my  sons  and 
daughters  for  food  and  have  nothing  left.  Thou 
sayest,  “  Defend  thyself/'  but  how  can  I  do  it  ? 
When  I  sent  my  son  to  thee  he  was  kept  three 
months  waiting  for  an  audience.  Though  my 
kinsmen  urge  me  to  join  the  rebels,  I  will  not 
do  it. 

Abi-Milki  of  Tyre  writes  :  To  the  king,  my 
lord,  my  gods,  my  Sun.  Thus  saith  Abi-Milki, 
thy  slave.  Seven  times  and  seven  times  do  I  fall 
down  at  the  feet  of  the  king  my  lord.  I  am  the 
dust  under  the  sandals  of  the  king  my  lord.  My 
lord  is  the  sun  that  riseth  over  the  earth  day  by 
day,  according  to  the  bidding  of  the  Sun,  his 
gracious  Father.  It  is  he  in  whose  moist  breath 
I  live,  and  at  whose  setting  I  make  my  moan.  He 
maketh  all  the  lands  to  dwell  in  peace  by  the 
might  of  his  hand  ;  he  thundereth  in  the  heavens 
like  the  Storm-god,  so  that  the  whole  earth 
trembleth  at  his  thunder.  .  .  .  Behold,  now, 

I  said  to  the  Sun,  the  Father  of  the  king  my  Lord, 
When  shall  I  see  the  face  of  the  king  my  Lord  ? 
And  now  behold  also  I  am  guarding  Tyre,  the 
great  city,  for  the  king  my  lord  until  the  king's 
mighty  hand  shall  come  forth  unto  me  to  give  me 
water  to  drink  and  wood  to  warm  myself  withal. 
Moreover,  Zimrida,  the  king  of  Sidon,  sendeth 
word  day  by  day  unto  the  traitor  Aziru,  the  son 
of  Abd-Ashratum,  concerning  all  that  he  hath 
heard  from  Egypt.  Now  behold,  I  have  written 
unto  my  lord,  for  it  is  well  that  he  should  know  this. 


102 


TUTANKHAMEN 


In  a  letter  from  Lapaya  the  writer  says  :  If 
the  king  were  to  write  to  me  for  my  wife  I  would 
not  refuse  to  send  her,  and  if  he  were  to  order 
me  to  stab  myself  with  a  bronzed  dagger  I  would 
certainly  do  so.  Among  the  writers  of  the  Letters 
is  a  lady  who  reports  the  raiding  of  Ajalon  and 
Sarha  by  the  Khabiri.  All  the  letters  tell  the 
same  story  of  successful  revolt  on  the  part  of  the 
subjects  of  Egypt  and  the  capture  and  plundering 
and  burning  of  towns  and  villages  by  the  Khabiri, 
and  the  robbery  of  caravans  on  all  the  trade 
routes.  And  whilst  all  this  was  going  on  the 
king  of  Egypt  remained  unmoved  and  only  occupied 
himself  with  the  cult  of  his  god  !  The  general 
testimony  of  the  Tall  al-'Amarnah  Letters  proves 
that  he  took  no  trouble  to  maintain  the  friendly 
relations  that  had  existed  between  the  kings  of 
Babylonia  and  Mitanni  and  his  father.  He  seems 
to  have  been  glad  enough  to  receive  embassies 
and  gifts  from  Mesopotamia,  and  to  welcome 
flattering  letters  full  of  expressions  of  loyalty 
and  devotion  to  himself,  but  the  gifts  which  he 
sent  back  did  not  satisfy  his  correspondents.  He 
sent  little  or  no  gold  to  be  used  in  decorating 
temples  in  Mesopotamia  and  for  making  figures 
of  gods,  and  some  of  the  letters  seem  to  afford 
instances  of  double-dealing  on  the  part  of  the 
king  of  Egypt.  At  all  events,  he  waged  no  wars 
in  Mesopotamia,  and  when  one  city  after  another 
failed  to  send  tribute  he  made  no  attempt  to  force 
them  to  do  so.  It  is  uncertain  how  much  he 
really  knew  of  what  was  happening  in  Western 
Asia,  but  when  Tushratta  and  others  sent  him 
dispatches  demanding  compensation  for  attacks 
made  upon  their  caravans,  when  passing  through 
his  territory,  he  must  have  realized  that  the  power 
of  Egypt  in  that  country  had  greatly  weakened. 
As  the  years  went  on  he  must  have  known  that 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV  103 

the  Egyptians  hated  his  god  and  loathed  his  rule,  and 
such  knowledge  must  have,  more  or  less,  affected 
the  health  of  a  man  of  his  physique  and  character. 

During  the  earlier  years  of  his  reign  painters 
and  sculptors  gave  him  the  conventional  form 
of  an  Egyptian  king,  but  later  he  is  represented 
in  an  entirely  different  manner.  He  had  naturally 
a  long  nose  and  chin  and  thick,  protruding  lips, 
and  he  was  somewhat  round-shouldered,  and 
had  a  long  slim  body,  and  he  must  have  had 
some  deformity  of  knees  and  thighs.  On  the 
bas-reliefs  and  in  the  paintings  all  these  physical 
characteristics  are  exaggerated,  and  the  figures  of 
the  king  are  undignified  caricatures.1  But  these 
must  have  been  made  with  the  king’s  knowledge 
and  approval,  and  must  be  faithful  representations 
of  him  as  he  appeared  to  those  who  made  them. 
In  other  words,  they  are  examples  of  the  realism 
in  art  (which  he  so  strongly  inculcated  in  the 
sculptors  and  artists  who  claimed  to  be  his  pupils) 
applied  to  himself.  History  is  silent  as  to  the 
last  years  of  his  reign,  but  the  facts  now  known 
suggest  that,  overwhelmed  by  troubles  at  home 
and  abroad,  and  knowing  that  he  had  no  son  to 
succeed  him,  and  that  he  had  failed  to  make  the 
cult  of  Aten  the  national  religion,  his  proud  and 
ardent  spirit  collapsed,  and  with  it  his  health,  and 
that  he  became  a  man  of  sorrow.  Feeling  his 
end  to  be  near,  he  appointed  as  co-regent  Sakara 
tcheser-kheperu,3  who  had  married  his  eldest 


1  Some  interesting  remarks  by  Dr.  H.  Asselbergs  on  the  old 
and  new  style  of  bas-relief  work  in  the  reign  of  Amenhetep  IV, 
with  a  photographic  reproduction  of  a  block  published  by  Prisse 
in  his  Monuments,  plate  io,  No.  i,  will  be  found  in  Aegyptische 
Zeitschrift,  Band  58  (1923),  p.  36  ff. 


3  His  full  titles  are 


'A 


104  TUTANKHAMEN 


daughter  Merit-Aten,  and  died  probably  soon  after¬ 
wards.  He  was  buried  in  a  rock-hewn  tomb, 
which  he  had  prepared  in  the  hills  five  miles 
away  on  the  eastern  bank  of  the  Nile  instead  of 
in  the  western  hills,  where  all  the  kings  of  the 
XVIIIth  dynasty  were  buried.  Even  in  the 
matter  of  the  position  of  his  tomb  he  would  not 
follow  the  custom  of  the  country.  This  tomb 
was  found  in  1887-8  by  native  diggers,  who 
cut  out  the  cartouches  of  the  king  and  sold  them 
to  travellers. 

Under  the  section  dealing  with  Amenhetep  III 
reference  has  been  made  to  the  series  of  large 
steatite  scarabs  on  which  this  king  commemorated 
in  writing  noteworthy  events  in  his  life.  Up  to 
the  present  nothing  has  been  found  at  Tall  al- 
‘Amarnah  or  in  Egypt  which  would  lead  us  to 
suppose  that  his  son  Amenhetep  IV  copied  his 
example,  but  a  very  interesting  scarab  found  at 
Sadenga  in  the  Egyptian  Sudan1  proves  that 
he  did,  at  least  on  one  occasion.  This  scarab 
is  now  in  the  British  Museum  (No.  51084).  On 
one  side  of  the  body  of  the  scarab  is  the  king's 


prenomen 


(3 


TO”N 


AAAAAA 


Ji 


and  on  the  other  is 


his  nomen 


On  the  base,  which 


is  mutilated  at  the  sides,  are  seven  lines  of  text 
which  read  : — 


ra 
/ — 


1  1  1  XvaS 

I  I  I  »|n1; 


(?)  CZ3 


/WWV\ 


AA/WAA 


1  It  was  first  published  by  Hall,  Catalogue  of  Scarabs . 
p.  302. 


To  face  p.  104. 


Plate  XI. 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV  105 


This  inscription  shows  that  the  scarab  was  made 
for  Amenhetep  IV  before  he  adopted  his  new  name 
of  Aakhunaten.  The  last  three  lines  give  names 
and  titles  of  the  king  and  his  queen,  and  the 
first  four  contain  an  address  or  prayer  concerning 
some  god.  The  breaks  at  the  beginnings  and  ends 
of  the  lines  do  not  permit  a  connected  translation 
to  be  made,  but  the  general  meaning  of  the  inscrip¬ 
tion  is  as  follows  : — 

“  The  king  of  the  South  and  of  the  North, 
Nefer-kheperu-Ra-ua-en-Ra,  giver  of  life,  son  of 
Ra,  loving  him,  Amenhetep,  God,  Governor  of 
Thebes,  great  in  the  duration  of  his  life,  [and] 
the  great  royal  wife  Nefertiti,  living  and  young, 
say :  Long  live  the  Beautiful  God,  the  great 
one  of  roarings  (thunders  ?)  .  .  .  in  the 

great  and  holy  name  of  Dweller  in 

the  Set  Festival  like  Ta-Thunen,  the  lord  of 
.  .  .  the  Aten  (Disk)  in  heaven,  stablished  of 
face,  gracious  (or  pleasant)  in  Anu  (On).”  This 
address  or  prayer  seems  to  have  been  made  to 
some  Thunder-god,  whose  name  was  great  and 
holy  :  _  the  ordinary  god  of  the  thunder  in  Egypt 
was  Aapep,  who  in  this  character  is  called 
“  Hemhem-ti.”  The  mention  of  Tathunen  is 


io6 


TUTANKHAMEN 


interesting,  for  he  was,  of  course,  one  of  the  “  gods  ” 
whom  Amenhetep  IV  at  a  later  period  of  his  life 
wished  to  abolish.  Can  this  inscription  represent 
an  attempt  to  assimilate  an  indigenous  Sudani 
Thunder-god  with  Aten  ?  The  writer  of  one  of 
the  Tall  al-'Amarnah  Letters  quoted  above  (p.  ioi) 
speaks  of  the  Thundering  of  Amenhetep  IV,  and 
says  that  when  he  thunders  all  the  people  quake 
with  fear.  From  this  it  seems  that  some  phase 
of  Aten  was  associated  in  the  minds  of  foreigners 
with  the  Thunder-god,  but  there  is  no  evidence  to 
show  who  that  god  was. 

The  facts  known  about  the  life  and  reign  of 
Aakhunaten  seem  to  me  to  prove  that  from  first 
to  last  he  was  a  religious  fanatic,  intolerant, 
arrogant  and  obstinate,  but  earnest  and  sincere 
in  his  seeking  after  God  and  in  his  attempts  to 
make  Aten  the  national  god  of  Egypt.  Modern 
writers  describe  him  as  a  “  reformer/'  but  he 
reformed  nothing.  He  tried  to  force  the  worship 
of  “  Horus  of  the  Two  Horizons  in  his  name  of 
Shu  ( i.e .,  Heat)  who  is  in  the  Aten  ”  upon  his 
people  and  failed.  When  he  found  that  his 
subjects  refused  to  accept  his  personal  views 
about  an  old,  perhaps  the  oldest,  solar  god,  whose 
cult  had  been  dead  for  centuries,  he  abandoned 
the  capital  of  his  great  and  warlike  ancestors 
in  disgust,  and  like  a  spoilt  child,  which  no  doubt 
he  was,  he  withdrew  to  a  new  city  of  his  own 
making.  Like  all  such  religious  megalomaniacs, 
so  long  as  he  could  satisfy  his  own  peculiar  aspira¬ 
tions  and  gratify  his  wishes,  no  matter  at  what 
cost,  he  was  content.  Usually  the  harm  which 
such  men  do  is  limited  in  character  and  extent, 
but  he,  being  a  king,  was  able  to  inflict  untold 
misery  on  his  country  during  the  seventeen  years 
of  his  reign.  He  spent  the  revenues  of  his 
country  on  the  cult  of  his  god,  and  in  satisfying 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV  107 

his  craving  for  beauty  in  shape  and  form,  and 
for  ecstatic  religious  emotion.  Though  lavish 
in  the  rewards  in  good  gold  and  silver  to  all 
those  who  ministered  to  this  craving,  he  was 
mean  and  niggardly  when  it  came  to  spending 
money  for  the  benefit  of  his  country.  The 
Tall  al-‘Amarnah  Letters  make  this  fact  quite 
clear.  The  peoples  of  Western  Asia  might  think 
and  say  that  the  King  of  Egypt  had  “  turned 
Fakir,"  but  there  was  little  asceticism  in  his 
life.  His  boast  of  “  living  in  reality/'  or  “  living 
in  truth,"  which  suggests  that  he  lived  a  perfectly 
natural  and  simple  life,  seeing  things  as  they 
really  were,  on  the  face  of  it  seems  to  be  ludicrous. 
Aakhunaten  had  much  in  common  with  Al- 
Hakim,  the  Fatimid  Khalifah  of  Egypt  (a.d. 
996-1021).  Each  was  the  son  of  a  wealthy, 
pleasure-loving,  luxurious  father,  and  each  suc¬ 
ceeded  to  the  throne  when  he  was  a  boy.  Each 
had  a  strange  face,  each  was  moved  to  break 
with  tradition  and  introduce  new  ideas,  but  the 
spirit  in  which  each  made  changes  was  that  of 
a  mad  reformer.  Christians  and  Jews  were  to 
Al-Hakim  what  the  Amenites  were  to  Aakhunaten. 
Both  king  and  Khalifah  were  pious  in  an  intolerant 
and  arrogant  fashion,  and  each  was  a  builder 
of  places  for  worship.  Each  thought  that  he 
was  the  incarnation  of  God,  and  each  usurped 
the  attributes  of  the  Deity,  and  prescribed  rules 
for  worship.  Each  was  a  patron  of  the  arts,  but 
there  is  no  evidence  that  the  Pharaoh  encouraged 
learned  men  to  flock  to  his  Court  as  did  the 
Khalifah.  Al-Hakim  frequently  had  his  enemies 
murdered,  and  in  his  fits  of  rage  had  people 
killed  wholesale.  Though  we  have  no  know¬ 
ledge  that  such  atrocities  were  committed  at 
Aakhutaten,  yet  it  would  be  rash  to  assume 
that  persons  who  incurred  the  king's  displeasure 


TUTANKHAMEN 


108 

in  a  serious  degree  were  not  removed  by  the 
methods  that  have  been  well  known  at  Oriental 
Courts  from  time  immemorial. 

Aakhunaten  was  succeeded  by  his  co-regent 
Sakara,  whose  reign  was  probably  very  short 
and  unimportant.  He  was  the  son-in-law  of 
the  king  and  a  devoted  worshipper  of  Aten, 
whose  cult  he  wished  to  make  permanent.  Nothing 
is  known  of  his  acts  or  whether  deposition  or 
death  removed  him  from  the  throne.  He  was 
succeeded  by  Tutankhamen,  whose  reign  has 
been  already  described.  The  short  reign  of  Ai, 
who  had  married  the  nurse  of  Amenhetep  IV, 
and  was  Master  of  the  Horse,  followed,  and  he 
was  succeeded  by  Her-em-heb,  a  military  officer 
who  served  in  the  north  of  Egypt  during  the 
reign  of  Aakhunaten.  The  restoration  of  the 
cult  of  Amen  begun  by  Tutankhamen  was  finally 
confirmed  by  him,  and  the  triumph  of  Amen  was 
complete.  The  immediate  result  of  this  was 
the  decline  and  fall  of  the  cult  of  Aten,  and  the 
city  “  Horizon  of  Aten  ”  lost  all  its  importance 
and  fell  into  decay.  The  artisan  classes,  finding 
no  work,  migrated  to  Thebes  and  other  places 
where  they  could  ply  their  crafts  in  the  service 
of  Amen,  and  many  of  the  Atenites  abandoned 
their  god  and  transferred  their  worship  to  Amen. 
It  is  probable  that  the  temples  and  houses  of  the 
officials  were  plundered  by  the  mob,  who  treated 
them  in  the  way  that  the  property  of  an  overthrown 
religious  faction  has  always  been  treated  in  the  East. 
The  forsaken  city  soon  fell  into  ruins  and  was 
never  rebuilt  or  again  inhabited.  A  liberal 
estimate  for  the  life  of  the  city  is  50  years. 

The  remains  of  Aakhutaten  are  marked  to-dav 
by  the  ruins  and  rock-hewn  tombs  which  lie 
near  the  Arab  villages  of  Hagg  Kandil  and 
At-Tall,  and  are  commonly  known  as  “  Tall 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV  109 

al-‘ Amarnah.”  In  1887  this  name  was  in  common 
use  among  the  Egyptians  of  Upper  Egypt,  and 
I  asked  Mustafa  Agha,  H.B.M/s  Vice-Consul 
at  Luxor,  to  explain  it.  He  said  that  the  Bani 
‘Amran  Arabs  settled  at  At-Tall  (ordinarily  pro¬ 
nounced  At-Tell,  or  even  At-Till),  and  that  for 
many  years  the  village  was  known  as  “  Tall  Bani 
‘Amran/ '  When  most  of  the  Bani  ‘ Amran  left 
the  place  and  returned  to  the  desert,  the  village 
was  called  “  Tall  al-‘Amarnah  ”  (pronounced  Tellel- 
‘Amarnah).  The  site,  which  is  a  very  large  one, 
needs  careful  excavation  from  one  end  to  the 
other,  for  only  here  can  possibly  be  found  material 
for  the  real  history  of  Amenhetep  IV  and  his 
reign.  The  discoveries  already  made  there  prove 
this,  for  over  three  hundred  Letters  and  Des¬ 
patches  written  in  cuneiform  from  kings  and 
governors  in  Western  Asia  were  found  on  the  site 
by  a  woman  in  1887/  and  she  sold  them  to 
a  neighbour  for  10  piastres  (25.).  As  a  result  of 
the  woman's  discovery  Petrie  made  excavations 
at  Tall  al-‘Amarnah  and  succeeded  in  finding 
several  small  fragments  and  chips  of  lists  of  signs 
and  words,  etc.,  and  some  beautifully  painted 
pavements.1 2 3  The  Deutsche  Orient-Gesellschaft 
began  to  excavate  there  in  1913,  and  in  the  year 
following  they  discovered  a  number  of  very 
important  objects,  among  which  may  be  specially 
mentioned  a  cuneiform  tablet  and  a  marvellously 
beautiful  head  of  Queen  Nefertiti,  which  is  now 
in  the  Museum  at  Berlin.  This  head  is  the  finest 
example  known  of  the  painted  sculpture  work 
from  Tall  al-‘Amarnah,  and  should  have  been 

1  This  discovery  has  been  attributed  to  Petrie  by  Mr. 
Garvin  in  the  Observer ,  February  25,  1923.  I  have  told  the 
true  story  of  the  “  find  ”  in  my  Nile  and  Tigris ,  Vol.  1,  p.  140  ff. 

2  He  dug  there  from  November,  1891,  to  the  end  of  March, 

1892.  See  his  Tell  el  Amarna,  London,  1894,  4to. 


no 


TUTANKHAMEN 


kept  in  Egypt  and  placed  in  the  Egyptian  Museum 
at  Cairo.  This  oversight  on  the  part  of  the 
officials  of  the  Cairo  Museum  seems  to  require 
an  explanation.  Among  the  cuneiform  fragments 
discovered  by  the  German  excavators  at  Tall  al- 
‘Amarnah  in  1913  was  one  which  was  inscribed 
with  a  legend  describing  the  expedition  of  Sargon 
of  Akkad  to  Asia  Minor.  The  original  text  of  the 
legend  of  the  "  King  of  the  Battle  ”  is  published 
by  Schroeder  in  Vorderasiatische  Schriftdenkmaler , 
xii,  pp.  2-4,  and  it  has  been  translated  by  Weidner 
under  the  title  of  Der  Zug  S argons  von  Akkad 
nach  Kleinasien. 

In  the  winter  of  1920-21  the  Egypt  Exploration 
Society  sent  out  an  expedition  to  Tall  al-‘Amarnah, 
under  the  direction  of  Prof.  T.  E.  Peet,  to  carry 
on  the  work  of  excavation  from  the  point  where 
the  Germans  left  it  in  1914.  During  the  course 
of  the  work  a  considerable  number  of  very 
interesting  objects  were  found,  including  a  frag¬ 
ment  of  a  cuneiform  tablet,  inscribed  with  a 
list  of  signs,  and  some  fine  examples  of  variegated 
glass  vessels  and  pottery.  The  data  he  collected1 
answered  a  number  of  questions  and  settled 
some  difficulties,  and  the  Society  determined  to 
continue  their  excavation  of  the  site.  In  1922 
Mr.  Woolley  succeeded  Prof.  Peet  as  Director  of 
the  Expedition,  and  continued  the  work  as  long 
as  funds  permitted.  The  discovery  made  by 
Lord  Carnarvon  and  Mr.  Howard  Carter  in 
December,  1922,  has  stirred  up  public  interest 
in  all  that  concerns  the  reigns  of  Tutankhamen 
and  his  predecessor  Amenhetep  IV,  the  notorious 
“  Heretic  King.”  It  is  more  necessary  now  than 
ever  that  excavations  should  be  carried  on  until 

1  See  his  preliminary  Report  in  the  Journal  of  Egyptian 
Archczology,  Vol.  VII  (1921),  p.  169  ff. 


1 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV  hi 

the  ruins  at  Tall  al-'Amarnah  have  been  thoroughly 
cleared  and  examined.  In  order  to  do  this  the 
Egypt  Exploration  Society  must  be  liberally 
supported,  and  everyone  who  is  interested  in  the 
History  and  Religion  of  the  ancient  Egyptians 
should  subscribe  to  this  work.  Like  everything 
else,  the  cost  of  excavating  sites  has  increased 
in  recent  years,  and  subscriptions  to  the  Society 
have  not  increased  in  proportion  to  the  expenses. 
The  President  of  the  Society  is  the  Right  Hon. 
General  J.  Grenfell  Maxwell,  G.C.B.,  who  is 
himself  an  ardent  collector  of  Egyptian  antiquities, 
and  the  Hon.  Secretary  is  Dr.  H.  R.  Hall,  Deputy 
Keeper  of  the  Department  of  Egyptian  and 
Assyrian  Antiquities  in  the  British  Museum. 
The  excavations  and  other  operations  of  the 
Society  are  conducted  with  strict  regard  to 
efficient  economy,  and  all  the  objects  obtained 
from  the  excavations  are  distributed  gratis  among 
Museums. 


Hymns  to  Aten. 

The  first  Hymn  (A)  is  put  into  the  mouth  of 
Aakhunaten,  and  is  known  as  the  “  Shorter 
Hymn  to  Aten.”  Several  copies  of  it  have  been 
found  in  the  tombs  at  Tall  al-‘Amarnah.  Texts 
of  it  have  been  published  by  Bouriant,  Daressy, 
Piehl  and  others,  but  the  most  correct  version 
is  that  copied  from  the  tomb  of  Api  and  published 
by  Mr.  N.  de  G.  Davies.1  The  second  Hymn  (B) 
is  found  in  the  tomb  of  Ai,  and  is  known  as  the 
“  Longer  Hymn  to  Aten.”  The  text  was  first 
published  by  Bouriant  in  Mission  Archdologique , 
tom.  I,  p.  2,  but  badly,  and  he  revised  it  in  his 

Monuments  du  Culte  d’Atonou,  I.,  pi.  xvi.  A  good 

/ 

1  For  the  published  literature  see  his  Rock  Tombs,  Vol.  IV, 

p.  28. 


112 


TUTANKHAMEN 

text  with  a  Latin  translation  was  published  by 
Breasted  in  his  Do  Hymnis  in  Soiem  sub  rege 
Amenophide  IV  conceptis,  Berlin,  1894,  and 
English  versions  of  most  of  it  were  given  by 
him  in  his  History  of  Egypt,  p.  315,  and  in  other 
publications.  Other  versions  and  extracts  have 
been  published  by  Griffith,  W orld’s  Literature , 
p.  5225  ;  Wiedemann,  Religion,  pp.  40-42  ;  Hall, 
Ancient  History,  p.  306  ;  Erman,  Religion,  p.  64, 
etc.  The  best  text  yet  published  is  that  of 
Davies1  and  that,  with  a  few  trivial  alterations, 
is  reproduced  in  the  following  pages.  In  recent  years 
this  Hymn  has  been  extolled  as  a  marvellously 
beautiful  religious  composition,  and  parts  of 
it  have  been  compared  with  some  of  the  Hebrew 
Psalms.  In  consequence  it  has  been  regarded 
as  an  expression  of  sublime  human  aspirations, 
and  the  outcome  of  a  firm  belief  in  a  God  who 
was  a  counterpart  of  the  Yahweh  of  the  Hebrews 
and  identical  with  God  Almighty.  But  if  we 
examine  the  Hymn,  line  by  line,  and  compare 
it  with  the  Hymns  to  Ra,  Amen  and  other  gods, 
we  find  that  there  is  hardly  an  idea  in  it  which 
is  not  borrowed  from  the  older  Egyptian  religious 
books.  Aten  is  called  the  eternal,  almighty, 
self-produced,  living,  or  self-subsisting,  creator 
of  heaven  and  earth  and  all  that  is  in  them, 
and  “  one  god  alone.”  His  heat  and  light  are 
the  sources  of  all  life,  and  only  for  these  and  the 
material  benefits  that  they  confer  on  man  and 
beast  is  Aten  praised  in  these  hymns.  There  is 
nothing  spiritual  in  them,  nothing  to  appeal  to 
man's  higher  nature.  The  language  in  which 
they  are  written  is  simple  and  clear,  but  there  is 
nothing  remarkable  about  the  phraseology,  unless 
the  statements  are  dogmatic  declarations  like 


1  Ibid.,  Vol.  VI,  pi.  xxvii. 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV  113 

the  articles  of  a  creed.  A  very  interesting 
characteristic  of  the  hymns  to  Aten  is  the  writer’s 
insistence  on  the  beauty  and  power  of  light,  and 
it  may  be  permitted  to  wonder  if  this  is  not  due 
to  Mitannian  influence,  and  the  penetration  into 
Egypt  of  Aryan  ideas  concerning  Mitra,  Varuna, 
and  Surya  or  Savitri,  the  Sun-god.  Aten,  or 
Horus  of  the  Two  Horizons,  corresponds  closely 
to  Surya,  the  rising  and  setting  sun,  Ra  to 
Savitri,  the  sun  shining  in  full  strength,  “  the 
golden-eyed,  the  golden-handed,  and  golden 
tongued.”  “  As  the  Vivifier  and  Quickener, 
he  raises  his  long  arms  of  gold  in  the  morning, 
rouses  all  beings  from  their  slumber,  infuses 
energy  into  them,  and  buries  them  in  sleep  in 
the  evening.”1  Surya,  the  rising  and  setting 
sun,  like  Aten,  was  the  great  source  of  light  and 
heat,  and  therefore  Lord  of  life  itself.  He  is 
the  Dyaus  Pitar,  the  “  Heaven-Father.”  Aten, 
like  Surya,  was  the  “  fountain  of  living  Light,”2 
with  the  all-seeing  eye,  whose  beams  revealed 
his  presence,  and  “  gleaming  like  brilliant  flames  ”8 
went  to  nation  after  nation.  Aten  was  not  only  the 
light  of  the  sun,  which  seems  to  give  new  life 
to  man  and  to  all  creation,  but  the  giver  of  light 
and  all  life  in  general.  The  bringer  of  light  and 
life  to-day,  he  is  the  same  who  brought  light  and 
life  on  the  first  of  days,  therefore  Aten  is  eternal. 
Light  begins  the  day,  so  it  was  the  beginning 
of  creation  ;  therefore  Aten  is  the  creator,  neither 
made  with  hands  nor  begotten,  and  is  the 
Governor  of  the  world.  The  earth  was  fertilized 
by  Aten,  therefore  he  is  the  Father-Mother  of  all 
creatures.  His  eye  saw  everything  and  knew 
everything.  The  hymns  to  Aten  suggest  that 

1  Wilkins,  Hindu  Mythology,  p.  33. 

3  See  Martin,  Gods  of  India,  p.  35. 

3  Monier- Williams,  Indian  Wisdom,  p.  19. 


H 


1 14  TUTANKHAMEN 

Amenhetep  IV  and  his  followers  conceived  an 
image  of  him  in  their  minds  and  worshipped 
him  inwardly.  But  the  abstract  conception  of 
thinking  was  wholly  inconceivable  to  the  average 
Egyptian,  who  only  understood  things  in  a 
concrete  form.  It  was  probably  some  conception 
of  this  kind  that  m  ade  the  cult  of  Aten  so  unpopular 
with  the  Egyptians,  and  caused  its  downfall. 
Aten,  like  Varuna,  possessed  a  mysterious  presence, 
a  mysterious  power,  and  a  mysterious  knowledge. 
He  made  the  sun  to  shine,  the  winds  were  his 
breath,  he  made  the  sea,  and  caused  the  rivers 
to  flow.  He  was  omniscient,  and  though  he  lived 
remote  in  the  heavens  he  was  everywhere  present 
on  earth.  And  a  passage  in  the  Rig-Veda  would 
form  an  admirable  description  of  him. 

Light-giving  Varuna  !  Thy  piercing  glance 
doth  scan 

In  quick  succession  all  this  stirring  active 
world. 

And  penetrateth,  too,  the  broad  ethereal 
space, 

Measuring  our  days  and  nights  and  spying  out 
all  creatures.1 

But  Varuna  possessed  one  attribute,  which, 
so  far  as  we  know,  was  wanting  in  Aten  ;  he 
spied  out  sin  and  judged  the  sinner.  The  early 
Aryan  prayed  to  him,  saying,  “  Be  gracious,  O 
Mighty  God,  be  gracious.  I  have  sinned  through 
want  of  power  ;  be  gracious.  What  great  sin  is 
it,  Varuna,  for  which  thou  seekest  in  thy 
worshipper  and  friend  ?  Tell  me,  O  unassailable 
and  self-dependent  god ;  and,  freed  from  sin, 
I  shall  speedily  come  to  thee  for  adoration/'2 

1  Monier-Williams’  translation. 

3  Rig-Veda,  VII,  86,  3-6. 


CULT  OF  ATEN  UNDER  AMENHETEP  IV  115 

And  Vanina  was  a  constant  witness  of  men's 
truth  and  falsehood.  The  early  Aryan  also  prayed 
to  Surya,  and  addressed  to  him  the  Gayatri,  a 
formula  which  is  the  mother  of  the  Vedas  and  of 
the  Brahmans.  He  said  to  the  god,  “  May  we 
attain  the  excellent  glory  of  the  divine  Vivifier  : 
so  may  he  enlighten  or  stimulate  our  under¬ 
standing."  The  words  secured  salvation  for  a 
man.1  No  consciousness  of  sin  is  expressed  in 
any  Aten  text  now  known,  and  the  Hymns  to 
Aten  contain  no  petition  for  spiritual  enlighten¬ 
ment,  understanding  or  wisdom.  For  what  then 
did  the  follower  of  Aten  pray  ?  An  answer  to 
this  question  is  given  in  the  Teaching  of  Amen- 
emapt,  the  son  of  Kanekht,  who  says  : — 


“  Make  the  prayer  which  is  due  from  thee  to  the 
Aten,  when  he  is  rising, 

Say,  Grant  to  me,  I  beseech,  strength  [and] 
health. 

He  will  give  thy  provision  for  the  life. 

And  thou  shalt  be  safe  from  that  which  would 
terrify  [thee]."2 

1  Martin,  The  Gods  of  India,  p.  39. 

2  Hieratic  Papyri  in  the  British  Museum,  ed.  Budge,  2nd 

Series,  London,  1923,  pi.  5. 


H  2 


A.— A  HYMN  TO  ATEN  BY  THE  KING.1 


A  Hymn  of  Praise  to  the  living  Horus  of  the 
Two  Horizons,  who  rejoiceth  in  the 
horizon  in  his  name  of  “  Shu,  who  is  in  the 
Aten  ”  (i.e.,  Disk),  the  giver  of  life  for 

EVER  AND  EVER,  BY  THE  KlNG  WHO  LIVETH 
IN  TRUTH,  THE  LORD  OF  THE  TWO  LANDS, 
Mefer-kheperu-Ra  Ua-en-Ra,  Son  of  Ra, 

WHO  LIVETH  IN  TRUTH,  LORD  OF  THE  CROWNS, 

Aakhunaten,  great  in  the  duration  of 

HIS  LIFE,  GIVER  OF  LIFE  FOR  EVER  AND  EVER. 

1  See  N.  de  G.  Davies,  The  Rock  Tombs  of  El  Amarna, 
Vol.  IV,  pi.  xxxii,  xxxiii.  The  text  is  from  the  Tomb  of  Api  at 
Tall  al-'Amarnah,  with  an  addition  from  the  tomb  of  Tutu. 


A.— HYMN  TO  ATEN  BY  THE  KING  117 

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Thou  risest  gloriously,  0  thou  Living  Aten, 
Lord  of  Eternity  !  Thou  art  sparkling  (or  coruscat¬ 
ing),  beautiful,  [and]  mighty.  Thy  love  is  mighty 
and  great  .  .  .  thy  light,  of  diverse  colours, 

leadeth  captive  (or,  bewitcheth)  all  faces.  Thy 
skin  shineth  brightly  to  make  all  hearts  to  live. 
Thou  fillest  the  Two  Lands  with  thy  love,  O 
thou  god,  who  did[st]  build  [thy] self.  Maker  of 
every  land,  Creator  of  whatsoever  there  is  upon  it, 
[viz.]  men  and  women,  cattle,  beasts  of  every  kind, 
and  trees  of  every  kind  that  grow  on  the  land. 

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They  live  when  thou  shinest  upon  them.  Thou 
art  the  mother  [and]  father  of  what  thou  hast 
made  ;  their  eyes,  when  thou  risest,  turn  their 
gaze  upon  thee.  Thy  rays  at  dawn  light  up  the 
whole  earth.  Every  heart  beateth  high  at  the 
sight  of  thee,  [for]  thou  risest  as  their  Lord. 

Thou  settest  in  the  western  horizon  of  heaven, 
they  lie  down  in  the  same  way  as  those  who  are 
dead.  Their  heads  are  wrapped  up  in  cloth,  their 
nostrils  are  blocked,  until  thy  rising  taketh  place 
at  dawn  in  the  eastern  horizon  of  heaven.  Their 
hands  then  are  lifted  up  in  adoration  of  thy 


A.— HYMN  TO  ATEN  BY  THE  KING  119 


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/wwv\  L-  -J 


-W- 


4"b 


nn 


D  ^  0 

I  /WWV\  “T" 

H  O  1 


Quid 


Ka  (or  person) ;  thou  vivifiest  hearts  with  thy 
beauties  (or,  beneficent  acts),  which  are  life. 
Thou  sendest  forth  thy  beams,  [and]  every  land 
is  in  festival.  Singing  men,  singing  women,  [and] 
chorus  men  make  joyful  noises  in  the  Hall  of  the 
House  of  the  Benben  Obelisk,  [and]  in  every 
temple  in  [the  city  of]  Aakhut-Aten,  the  Seat  of 
Truth,  wherewith  thy  heart  is  satisfied.  Within 
it  are  dedicated  offerings  of  rich  food  (?). 

Thy  son  is  sanctified  (or,  ceremonially  pure)  to 
perform  the  things  which  thou  wiliest,  O  thou 
Aten,  when  he  showeth  himself  in  the  appointed 
processions. 


120 


TUTANKHAMEN 


Every  creature  that  thou  hast  made  skippeth 
towards  thee,  thy  honoured  son  [rejoiceth],  his 
heart  is  glad,  O  thou  Living  Aten,  who  [appearest] 
in  heaven  every  day.  He  hath  brought  forth  his 
honoured  son,  Ua-en-Ra,  like  his  own  form,  never 
ceasing  so  to  do.  The  son  of  Ra  support eth  his 
beauties  (or  beneficent  acts). 

Nefer-kheperu-Ra  Ua-en-Ra  [saith]  : — 

I  am  thy  son,  satisfying  thee,  exalting  thy 
name.  Thy  strength  [and]  thy  power  are  estab¬ 
lished  in  my  heart.  Thou  art  the  Living  Disk, 
eternity  is  thine  emanation  (or,  attribute).  Thou 
hast  made  the  heavens  to  be  remote  so  that  thou 


A.— HYMN  TO  ATEN  BY  THE  KING  121 


■“=3, 

ft  If' 

^  f 
Mi 


<2>-  LI  1 


ft- 


/VWWN 


f 


/W/WAA 


.£> 


/WWW 


/wwv\ 

AA/W/W  ^ 


0 


IS  «=>  — f  rr 

T 


/WW/W  )  ) 

Vm 


:^r 


,  o  III 


/WWW 


=0:  t  J1  'WWW  A/W/VW  ^ 

III  I 


I 


ra 


J/WWWA  r-  ^ 

jMH  Li 


a 


-M- 


AA/WAA 

I  I  I 


□ 


ft“X ' 

Y1 


AAA/WX 


30 


Jr  II  I 


I  VT'  I  7f  £)  WWW 


II 


A  <Sq  ^ 

I  M/VW\  L-=Z1 


A/WWW  I  /WWW 


□ 


v\  z= 


01  ^ 


|  A/WVNA 

I  I  l  I 

A  ^ 

H  o 


] 


1  RMpa 

I'D 


mightest  shine  therein  and  gaze  upon  everything 
that  thou  hast  made.  Thou  thyself  art  Alone,  but 
there  are  millions  of  [powers  of]  life  in  thee  to 
make  them  (i.e.,  thy  creatures)  live.  Breath  of 
life  is  it  to  [their]  nostrils  to  see  thy  beams.  Buds 
burst  into  flower  (?),  [and]  the  plants  which  grow 
on  the  waste  lands  send  up  shoots  at  thy  rising  ; 
they  drink  themselves  drunk  before  thy  face. 
All  the  beasts  frisk  about  on  their  feet  ;  all  the 
feathered  fowl  rise  up  from  their  nests  and  flap 
their  wings  with  joy,  and  circle  round  in  praise 
of  the  Living  Aten.  .  .  . 

1  The  passage  in  brackets  is  added  from  another  copy  of  the 
Hymn,  viz.,  that  of  Tutu. 


B.— HYMN  TO  ATEN1 


BY 

Al,  OVERSEER  OF  THE  HORSE  OF 

Aakhunaten. 


i.  A  Hymn  of  praise  of  Her-aakhuti,  the  living 
one,  exalted  in  the  Eastern  Horizon  in  his 
name  of  Shu  who  is  in  the  Aten,  who 
liveth  for  ever  and  ever,  the  living  and 
great  Aten,  he  who  is  in  the  Set-Festival, 
the  lord  of  the  Circle,  the  Lord  of  the 
Disk,  the  Lord  of  heaven,  the  Lord  of  earth, 
the  lord  of  the  House  of  the  Aten  in 
Aakhut-Aten,  [of]  the  King  of  the  South 
and  the  North,  who  liveth  in  Truth,  lord 
of  the  Two  Lands  ( i.e.y  Egypt),  Nefer- 
kheperu-Ra  Ua-en-Ra,  the  son  of  Ra, 

1  See  N.  de  G.  Davies,  op.  cit.,  Vol.  VI,  pi.  xxvii. 


B.— HYMN  TO  ATEN  BY  Al 


123 


<2*  Qlll 

a  a 


*/V^V\ 


>J  «-=> 

WWW 

_ J  *= 


A 


I  O 


1 


C\ 


\>  \> 


AAAAAA 

o 


2 


f  PTl  1H  3  M 
ftt-  tjh—  S7 


pQn 


AAAAAA 


□ 


(j"^  fcfrt 


f7  ft- 


c©]  4  ^  ^ 


*7J  H  k 

k  j;-  ft- 


AAAAAA 


AAAAAA 


nq  sn 

-  TftK: 


who  liveth  in  Truth,  Lord  of  Crowns, 
Aakhun-Aten,  great  in  the  period  of  his 
life,  [and  of]  the  great  royal  woman  (or 
wife)  whom  he  loveth.  Lady  of  the  Two 
Lands,  Nefer  -  neferu  -  Aten  Nefertiti, 
who  liveth  in  health  and  youth  for  ever  and 
ever. 

2.  He  (i.e.,  Ai,  a  Fan-bearer  and  the  Master  of 
the  King's  Horse)  saith  : — 

Thy  rising  [is]  beautiful  in  the  horizon 
of  heaven,  O  Aten,  ordainer  of  life.  Thou 
dost  shoot  up  in  the  horizon  of  the  East, 
thou  fillest  every  land  with  thy  beneficence. 
Thou  art  beautiful  and  great  and  sparkling, 
and  exalted  above  every  land.  Thy  arrows 


124 


TUTANKHAMEN 


(i.e.,  rays)  envelop  ( i.e .,  penetrate)  every¬ 
where  all  the  lands  which  thou  hast  made. 

3.  Thou  art  as  Ra.  Thou  bringest  [them]  accord¬ 
ing  to  their  number,  thou  subduest  them  for 
thy  beloved  son.  Thou  thyself  art  afar 
off,  but  thy  beams  are  upon  the  earth  ; 
thou  art  in  their  faces,  they  [admire]  thy 
goings. 

Thou  settest  in  the  horizon  of  the  west, 
the  earth  is  in  darkness,  in  the  form  of 
death.  Men  lie  down  in  a  booth  wrapped 
up  in  cloths,  one  eye  cannot  see  its  fellow. 


B.— HYMN  TO  ATEN  BY  Al  125 


1 


- H - 

aaaaaa 

I  I  I 


III 


AAAAAA 

I  I  i 


c 


—M - 

aaaaaa 

I  I  I 


cm 


1  l  o  cm2 


* - 

1  1  1 


- M - 

IWWA 

I  I  I 


I r~|  »  >i 

* 


M 


I _  _J 


I  I  I 


— M —  ■  -Q.  . 

AAA/sAA 

III  £*  □ 


pQp 
^  n 


AAAAAA  n 

^  ©J 


If  all  their  possessions,  which  are  under 
their  heads,  be  carried  away  they  perceive 
it  not. 

4.  Every  lion  emergeth  from  his  lair,  all  the  creep¬ 
ing  things  bite,  darkness  [is]  a  warm 
retreat  (?).  The  land  is  in  silence.  He  who 
made  them  hath  set  in  his  horizon. 

The  earth  becometh  light,  thou  shootest 
up  in  the  horizon,  shining  in  the  Aten  in 
the  day,  thou  scatterest  the  darkness. 
Thou  sendest  out  thine  arrows  ( i.e .,  rays), 


126 


TUTANKHAMEN 


'sz—x>  c 

\>  \> 


I4J  s 


'i  a* 


£ 

II 


M  “M 


MAW 


AAAAAA 

I  I  I 


A 

AAAAAA 

AAAAAA 

AAA/VNA 


0  _ _ _£) 


□ 


,  .  wp* 


I  S 


JJ  —4— 

AAAAAA  y- 

J]  I  I  I 


1 


I  Q 

|  aaaaaa 


_0 _ D 


AAAAAA 

I  t  I 


I 


(?)  O  I 

V! 


-M -  /C 


— « —  <3, 

X^I"1  i 


1 1 1 


u 


/vww\ 


3  0 


AAAAAA 

I  I  I 


I  I  I 


u 

I 


AAAAAA 

I  I  I 


AAAAAA 


I  I  I 


/WVAAA 

III  Ml 


9 

I 

I  I  I 


=  1 


I  I 


|  AAAAAA 


j  ra  j 


1 1 1 


<§» 


AAAAAA  ^ 
AAAAAA 


the  Two  Lands  make  festival,  [men]  wake 
up,  stand  upon  their  feet,  it  is  thou  who 
raisest  them  up.  [They]  wash  their  mem¬ 
bers,  they  take  [their  apparel] 

5.  and  array  themselves  therein,  their  hands  are 
[stretched  out]  in  praise  at  thy  rising, 
throughout  the  land  they  do  their  works. 

Beasts  and  cattle  of  all  kinds  settle  down 
upon  the  pastures,  shrubs  and  vegetables 
flourish,  the  feathered  fowl  fly  about  over 
their  marshes,  their  feathers  praising  thy 
Ka  (person).  All  the  cattle  rise  up  on 
their  legs,  creatures  that  fly  and  insects  of 
all  kinds 


B.— HYMN  TO  ATEN  BY  Al  127 


Q  AAAAAA  - M - 

C  Ai.  AAAAAA 

D*  T  ®  111 


/WWW  n  AAAAAA  - W- 


leJ 


AAAAAA 

I  I  I 


I  I 
I 

tC2^C  f 


AAAAAA 


£: 


filh 

mu  0  X\ 


•mrmTr  Q  ,— w_ 


AAAAAA  AAAAAA 


J] 


42c 

Ml  | 


^  AAAAAA 

d>  AAAAAA  ) - ( 

AAAAAA 


I 


X 


AAAAAA 


<v>  , 


^  -A 


TT8 


ns 

AAAAAA 

Cl- □ 


AAAAAA  y - f 

AAAAAA 

AAAAAA  I  V 


1  1  1 


1  /wwv' 

N _ '  (U  |  -<Xr>-  AAAAAA 

O  \  J  I  AAAAAA 


■Si  Pf 


AAAAAA 


AAAAAA 


S 


^  41 


^rr-n:  o 


I  I  I  r1^1^ 

AAAAM 

- fl^7 


6.  spring  into  life,  when  thou  risest  up  on  them. 

The  boats  drop  down  and  sail  up  the  river, 
likewise  every  road  openeth  (or  showeth 
itself)  at  thy  rising,  the  fish  in  the  river 
swim  towards  thy  face,  thy  beams  are  in 
the  depths  of  the  Great  Green  ( i.e .,  the 
Mediterranean  and  Red  Seas). 

Thou  makest  offspring  to  take  form  in 
women,  creating  seed  in  men.  Thou  makest 
the  son  to  live  in  the  womb  of  his  mother, 
making  him  to  be  quiet  that  he  crieth  not ; 
thou  art  a  nurse 


128 


TUTANKHAMEN 


7. 


*v*— a- 
o  l 


4 _ D 


QQ 


(3 

II 


I 


Pf 


/wwv\ 


a 


*3— =» 
^  I 


9 

I 


-<2^ 


ffi 


I 


PM“  A=^ 


r 


fl 


AAAAAA 


rmn 


J  /WWW 


3i 


5b?  o 

AAAAAA  cn 


c 


7.  in  the  womb,  giving  breath  to  vivify  that 
which  he  hath  made.  [When]  he  droppeth 
from  the  womb  ...  on  the  day  of  his 
birth  [he]  openeth  his  mouth  in  the 
[ordinary]  manner,  thou  providest  his 
sustenance. 

The  young  bird  in  the  egg  speaketh  in  the 
shell,  thou  givest  breath  to  him  inside  it 
to  make  him  to  live.  Thou  makest  for 
him  his  mature  form  so  that  he  can  crack 
the  shell  [being]  inside  the  egg.  He  cometh 
forth  from  the  egg,  he  chirpeth  with  all 


B.— HYMN  TO  ATEN  BY  AI 


129 


1  1  1 


<SZ>- 


8 


■  ii 


M/W W 


l^rnu,  [mxLUj 

I  I  I  /WAAA 


*3P 


'  1)^= 
!  Ik 


S\  \\\ 


I 


I  I 


Y 


M 


1  oa  x  1 


1  ^  D 


©  1 
1  1  ! 


wwvw 


\\ 


"^11 


fnES^ 

I  I  I 


f>] 


I 


c=sf= 
I  I  \> 


/WWW 


o  \\ 


Erass!^ 


A/WWN 

AA/WW  A  I  I  I  III 


^  M 


a_o 

rvw  no  l  /WWW 


1 


his  might,  when  he  hath  come  forth  from 
it  (the  egg),  he  walketh  on  his  two  feet. 

0  how  many  are  the  things  which  thou 
hast  made ! 

They  are  hidden  from  the  face,  0  thou 
8.  One  God,  like  whom  there  is  no  other.  Thou 
didst  create  the  earth  by  thy  heart  (or 
will),  thou  alone  existing,  men  and  women, 
cattle,  beasts  of  every  kind  that  are  upon 
the  earth,  and  that  move  upon  feet  (or 
legs),  all  the  creatures  that  are  in  the  sky 
and  that  fly  with  their  wings,  [and]  the 
deserts  of  Syria  and  Kesh  (Nubia),  and  the 
Land  of  Egypt. 

1 


TUTANKHAMEN 


130 


WW/W 

I  I  I 


I  I  I 


<2>- 


□ 


/www 

MWWAA 
WWW 


<2>- 


- M - 

WWW 


I  I  I 


*WWA 


■— «f — 

www 

I  I  I 


WWW 


Thou  settest  every  person  in  his  place. 
Thou  provides!  their  daily  food,  every  man 
having  the  portion  allotted  to  him,  [thou] 
dost  compute  the  duration  of  his  life.  Their 
tongues  are  different  in  speech,  their  charac¬ 
teristics  (or  forms),  and 

9.  likewise  their  skins  [in  colour],  giving  dis¬ 
tinguishing  marks  to  the  dwellers  in  foreign 
lands. 

Thou  makest  Hapi  (the  Nile)  in  the 
Tuat  (Underworld),  thou  bringest  it  when 
thou  wishest  to  make  mortals  to  live, 
inasmuch  as  thou  hast  made  them  for  thy¬ 
self,  their  Lord  who  dost  support  them  to 


B.— HYMN  TO  ATEN  BY  Al 


131 


-H- 


(VWM 

I  I  I 

^  1 


A  ^ 

/  AA/WAA  /WWW 

H  O 


1 


I  I  I 


<f| 


ra 


3=F* 


3E 


^X7^>-  Q  WWW  - H - 

HH  /WWV\ 


I  I  i 


1 


AwWWV 


4 _ 0 


10. 


wwv\ 


/WWW 

□  I  I  /WWW 

1 1  /www 


WWW  /WWW 

ra  *w~v 

O  (5  /WWW 


I 


rn  0  0  ^  /www  /www 

11  I  I  I 


0=0 


quid 

1 1 1 


a 


/WWW 

wvw 

WAV\ 


J 


WWW 

AAAWW 

/WWW 


L—/J 


o 

WWW 

1 1 1  I  I  I 


Qd—  n^f  „tk  fl„  n<^! 

W  I  III  /WWW  0  _/l  !  t  ■  W  ~l  I 


cyy 

o 


o 


jQ  I~==t.T 


□  o 


/WAAM 

Q  1 1  wyyw 


1&I 


I  I  I 

tyy 


/WWW 


/WWW 


15? 


lkefe 


yy 


o 


the  uttermost,  0  thou  Lord  of  every  land, 
thou  shinest  upon  them,  0  Aten  of  the 
day,  thou  great  one  of  majesty. 

Thou  makest  the  life  of  all  remote  lands. 
Thou  settest  a  Nile  in  heaven,  which  cometh 
down  to  them. 

10.  It  maketh  a  flood  on  the  mountains  like  the 
Great  Green  Sea,  it  maketh  to  be  watered 
their  fields  in  their  villages.  How  bene¬ 
ficent  are  thy  plans,  0  Lord  of  Eternity  ! 
A  Nile  in  heaven  art  thou  for  the  dwellers 
in  the  foreign  lands  (or  deserts),  and  for 

all  the  beasts  of  the  desert  that  go  upon 

1  2 


132 


TUTANKHAMEN 


^  ?  [S]«i 

SM^.  =  r:  S«*  Tl“ 
?  5*  but  ^  *J7  —  f 


WVVAA 

MAW 

/WWV\ 


WWW 


— M — 

AWAA 

I  I  I 


X'l 


AAAAAA 

I  I  I 


WAAA 


MSrr; 


q  0 

<2>- _  _ 

_ *0  |r‘ - S 


r> 


feet  (or  legs).  Hapi  (the  Nile)  cometh  from 
the  Tuat  for  the  land  of  Egypt.  Thy 
beams  nourish  every  field  ;  thou  risest  up 
[and]  they  live,  they  germinate  for  thee. 

Thou  makest  the  Seasons  to  develop 
everything  that  thou  hast  made  : 
ii  The  season  of  Pert  ( i.e .,  Nov.  16-March  16) 
so  that  they  may  refresh  themselves,  and 
the  season  Heh  (i.e.,  March  16-Nov.  16)  in 
order  to  taste  thee.1  Thou  hast  made  the 
heaven  which  is  remote  that  thou  mayest 
shine  therein  and  look  upon  everything 

1  I.e.,  for  men  to  feel  the  heart  of  Shu  who  is  in  the  Aten. 


B.— HYMN  TO  ATEN  BY  AI  133 


si  it  mi  n 


-<s>- 


s':  —  x  1  i  n 

M44 


J\ 

--c5— 


a 

1 1  I 


© 


I  I  I 


:  a 

AAA/WA 


0 


1^*3* 


l  Jr  J1  X  Cl  @  a  I 


-S114 

raVo 

][  2*  /WVW\ 

9 


/wwv\ 

I  I  I 


4^ 


A  ^ 

I  /WWW 

H  o 


www 


9  © 


WWAA 


WWW 


AAAAAA  I 

MWA  t-J  I 


Ck 
I  I  I 


^  /CZZ 
■^rr-ir  ,-  w_ 


^  0 - QSp£ 

->  Xmli 


<a>  /wvwA 


45? 


0- 

1 


AAAAAA 


that  thou  hast  made.  Thy  being  is  one, 
thou  shinest  (or,  shootest  up)  among  thy 
creatures  as  the  Living  Aten,  rising,  shining, 
departing  afar  off,  returning.  Thou  hast 
made  millions  of  creations  (or,  evolutions) 
from  thy  one  self  (viz.)  towns  and  cities, 
villages,  fields,  roads  and  river.  Every  eye 
(i.e.,  all  men)  beholdeth  thee  confronting 
it.  Thou  art  the  Aten  of  the  day  at  its 
zenith. 

12.  At  thy  departure  thine  eye  .  .  .  thou 

didst  create  their  faces  so  that  thou 
mightest  not  see.  .  .  .  One  thou  didst 


134 


TUTANKHAMEN 


WWW 

I  t  I 


C*  □ 


- H - 

AA/VWS 

I  I  I 


13. 


m 


WMA 

A/WW> 


I 


I 

III 


□ 


II 


-W- 


□ 


T  fA  W7  P 


make  .  .  .  Thou  art  in  my  heart. 

There  is  no  other  who  knoweth  thee  except 
thy  son  Nefer-kheperu-Ra  Ua-en-Ra.  Thou 
hast  made  him  wise  to  understand  thy 
plans  [and]  thy  power.  The  earth  came 
into  being  by  thy  hand,  even  as  thou 
hast  created  them  ( i.e .,  men).  Thou  risest, 
they  live  ;  thou  settest,  they  die.  As  for 
thee,  there  is  duration  of  life  in  thy  mem¬ 
bers,  life  is  in  thee.  [All]  eyes  [gaze  upon] 
13.  thy  beauties  until  thou  settest,  [when]  all 
labours  are  relinquished.  Thou  settest  in 
the  West,  thou  risest,  making  to  flourish 
.  .  .  for  the  King.  Every  man  who 


B.— HYMN  TO  ATEN  BY  Al 


135 


A/WWA 


} 


/WWW 


AA/WV\ 


i 


- M - 

/WWW 


c: 


I  H 


^“2 


— -M— 

/VWW\ 

I  I  I 


/vww\ 


( tfiimt  »m  fifl  in 

St  M 


[standeth  on  his]  foot,  since  thou  didst 
lay  the  foundation  of  the  earth,  thou 
hast  raised  up  for  thy  son  who  came 
forth  from  thy  body,  the  King  of  the  South 
and  the  North,  Living  in  Truth,  Lord  of 
Crowns,  Aakhun-Aten,  great  in  the  duration 
of  his  life  [and  for]  the  Royal  Wife,  great 
of  majesty,  Lady  of  the  Two  Lands, 
Nefer-neferu-Aten  Nefertiti,  living  [and] 
young  for  ever  and  ever. 


HYMNS  TO  THE  SUN-GOD. 

[From  the  Papyrus  of  Ani,  Sheets  18  and  19.] 


The  following  Hymns  are  good,  typical  examples 

of  the  songs  of  praise  and  thanksgiving  which 

were  addressed  to  the  Sun-god  by  orthodox 

Egyptians  under  the  XVIIIth  dynasty. 

A  Hymn  to  Ra  when  he  rises  on  the  Horizon 

AND  WHEN  HE  SETS  IN  THE  LAND  OF  LlFE. 

Homage  to  thee,  O  Ra,  who  risest  as  Tem- 
Heraakhuti. 

Thou  art  adored.  Thy  beauties  are  before  my 
eyes,  and  thy  splendour  falleth  upon  my 
body. 

Thou  goest  to  thy  setting  in  the  Seqtet  Boat 
with  fair  winds,  and  thy  heart  is  glad.  The 
heart  of  the  Matet  Boat  rejoices. 

Thou  stridest  over  the  heavens  in  peace,  all  thy 
foes  being  cast  down. 

The  stars  which  never  rest  ( i.e .,  the  planets)  hymn 
thee,  and  the  stars  which  never  vanish  (i.e., 
the  circumpolar  stars)  glorify  thee  as  thou 
sinkest  to  rest  in  the  horizon  of  Manu. 

Thou  art  beautiful  at  morn  and  at  eve,  O  thou 
Living  Lord,  the  Unchanging  One,  my 
Lord. 

Homage  to  thee  who  risest  as  Ra  and  settest  as 
Tern  in  beauty. 


HYMNS  TO  THE  SUN-GOD  137 

Thou  risest  and  shinest  on  the  back  of  thy  mother 
the  Sky-goddess],  O  thou  who  art  crowned 
king  of  the  gods. 

Nut  (the  Sky-goddess)  pays  homage  to  thee,  and 
Maat  (the  goddess  of  Law  and  Truth)  em¬ 
braces  thee  at  morn  and  eve. 

Joyfully  thou  stridest  over  the  heavens  and  the  Lake 
of  Testes  (a  part  of  heaven)  is  content  thereat. 
Thine  enemy  Sebau  is  cast  down  headlong, 
his  arms  and  hands  are  cut  off,  and  thy 
dagger  has  severed  the  joints  of  his  back¬ 
bone. 

Ra  has  a  fair  wind,  the  Seqtet  Boat  advances 
and  comes  into  port. 

The  gods  of  the  South,  the  North,  the  West  and 
the  East  praise  thee,  O  thou  divine  substance, 
from  whence  all  forms  of  life  sprang. 

Thou  speakest — earth  is  flooded  with  silence, 
O  thou  Only  One,  who  didst  dwell  in  heaven 
before  ever  the  earth  and  the  mountain  came 
into  being. 

O  Shepherd,  O  Lord,  O  Only  One,  Creator 
of  what  is,  thou  didst  make  the  tongue 
of  the  Nine  Gods.  Thou  hast  made  all 
that  sprang  from  the  waters,  and  thou 
shootest  up  from  them  over  the  land  of 
the  pools  of  the  Lake  of  Horus. 

Let  me  breathe  the  air  which  comes  from  thy 
nostrils  and  the  north  wind  which  is  from 
thy  mother  Nut.  Glorify  my  spirit,  O  Osiris, 
make  divine  my  soul. 

O  Lord  of  the  gods,  thou  art  worshipped  at 
setting  in  peace,  and  art  exalted  because 
of  all  thy  wondrous  works, 

Shine  thou  upon  my  body  each  day. 


138 


TUTANKHAMEN 


A  Hymn  to  Ra  when  he  rises  in  the  East. 

Hail,  thou  Aten,  thou  lord  of  rays,  who  rises! 
on  the  horizon  day  by  day  !  Shine  thou  with 
thy  beams  of  light  upon  the  face  of  the  Osiris 
Ani,  the  truth-speaker,  who  sings  hymns  to 
thee  at  dawn,  and  adores  thee  at  eventide. 
Let  his  soul  appear  with  thee  in  heaven. 
Let  him  sail  out  in  the  Mate!  Boat  and  arrive 
in  port  in  the  Seqtet  Boat,  and  let  him  cleave 
his  way  among  the  stars  that  never  vanish. 

Homage  to  thee,  O  Her-aakhuti,  who  art  Khepera, 
the  self-created ! 

When  thou  rises!  and  sendest  forth  thy  beams 
upon  the  lands  of  the  South  and  the  North, 
thou  art  beautiful,  yea  beautiful,  and  all  the 
gods  rejoice  when  they  see  thee,  the  King 
of  Heaven. 

Nebt-Unnut  (a  goddess)  is  on  thy  head,  her 
serpents  are  on  thy  head,  and  she  takes  her 
place  before  thee.  Thoth  stands  in  the 
bows  of  thy  boat  to  destroy  thy  foes. 

The  denizens  of  the  Tuat  (Underworld)  come  to 
meet  thee,  they  bow  before  thee  in  homage 
at  the  sight  of  thy  Beautiful  Form. 

I  would  come  before  thee  daily  to  be  with  thee 
and  to  behold  thy  Beautiful  Aten  (Disk) .  Let 
me  be  neither  prevented  nor  repulsed. 

Grant  that  when  I  look  upon  thy  beauties  my 
members  may  be  made  young  again,  even 
as  are  the  members  of  thy  favoured  ones. 

I  am  one  who  worshipped  thee  on  earth.  Let  me 
enter  the  Eternal  Land  in  the  Everlasting 
Country.  O  my  Lord,  I  beseech  thee  to 
decree  this  for  me. 


HYMNS  TO  THE  SUN-GOD  139 

Homage  to  thee  who  risest  as  Ra  on  thy  horizon 
and  restest  upon  Maat  ! 

Thou  passest  over  the  sky,  every  face  watches 
thy  course,  thou  thyself  being  unseen.  Thou 
showest  thyself  at  dawn  and  at  eve  daily. 

The  Seqtet  Boat  of  thy  Majesty  goes  forth 
mightily,  thy  beams  fall  upon  every  face, 
thy  variegated  lights  and  colours  cannot 
be  numbered,  and  cannot  be  told  .  .  . 

One  by  thyself  alone  didst  thou  come  into  being 
from  the  primeval  waters  of  Nunu  (or  Nu). 

May  I  go  forward  as  thou  dost  advance  without 
pause,  and  dost  in  a  moment  pass  over  untold 
leagues  ;  and  as  thou  sinkest  to  rest  even 
so  may  I. 

Thou  art  crowned  with  the  majesty  of  thy 
beauties,  thou  dost  fashion  thy  members 
as  thou  dost  advance,  and  dost  produce  them 
without  the  pangs  of  labour  in  the  form  of 
Ra,  and  dost  rise  up  into  the  heights. 

Grant  that  I  may  come  into  the  everlasting 
heaven  and  the  mountain  where  thy  favoured 
ones  dwell.  Let  me  join  myself  to  those 
who  are  holy  and  perfect  in  the  divine  Under¬ 
world,  and  let  me  appear  with  them  to  behold 
thy  beauties  at  eventide.  1  lift  my  hands 
to  thee  in  adoration  when  thou  the  living  One 
dost  set.  Thou  art  the  Eternal  Creator 
and  art  adored  at  thy  setting  in  heaven. 

I  have  given  my  heart  to  thee  without  wavering, 
O  thou  who  art  the  mightiest  of  the  gods  .  .  . 


EGYPTIAN  MONOTHEISM. 


During  the  last  eighty  years  the  gods  of  Egypt 
and  the  religion  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians  have 
been  carefully  studied  by  many  Egyptologists, 
but  the  difficulties  which  surround  these  subjects 
have  not  yet  been  cleared  away.  The  respon¬ 
sibility  for  the  existence  of  these  difficulties 
rests  upon  the  Egyptians  themselves,  because 
they  did  not  write  books  on  their  religion  or 
explanations  of  what  they  believed.  But  a  great 
many  hymns  to  their  gods  and  legends  of  their 
gods  and  goddesses  have  come  down  to  us,  and 
from  these,  thanks  to  the  publication  of  Egyptian 
texts  during  the  last  thirty  years,  it  is  now  possible 
to  arrive  at  a  number  of  important  conclusions 
about  the  Egyptian  religion  and  its  general 
character.  The  older  Egyptologists  debated  the 
question  whether  it  was  monotheistic,  polytheistic, 
or  pantheistic,  and  the  differences  in  the  opinions 
which  they  formed  about  it  will  illustrate  its 
difficulty.  Champoilion  believed  it  to  have  been 
“  a  pure  monotheism,  which  manifested  itself 
externally  by  a  symbolic  polytheism/’1  Tiele 
thought  that  in  the  beginning  it  was  polytheistic, 
but  that  it  developed  in  two  opposite  directions  ; 
in  the  one  direction  gods  were  multiplied,  and 
in  the  other  it  drew  nearer  and  nearer  to  mono¬ 
theism.2  Naville  treated  it  as  a  “  religion  of 

1  L’£gypte,  Paris,  1839,  p.  245. 

2  Geschiedenis  van  den  Godsdienst  in  de  Oudheid,  Amsterdam, 
1893,  p.  25. 


EGYPTIAN  MONOTHEISM 


141 

nature,  inclining  to  pantheism/’1  Maspero  admitted 
that  the  Egyptians  applied  the  epithets,  ‘'one 
God  ”  and  "  only  God  ”  to  several  gods,  even 
when  the  god  was  associated  with  a  goddess 
and  a  son,  but  he  adds  "  ce  dieu  Un  n’etait  jamais 
Dieu  tout  court  ”  ;2  the  "  only  god  ”  is  the  only 
god  Amen,  or  the  only  god  Ptah,  or  the  only 
god  Osiris,  that  is  to  say,  a  being  determinate 
possessing  a  personality,  name,  attributes,  apparel, 
members,  a  family,  a  man  infinitely  more  perfect 
than  men.  He  is  a  likeness  of  the  kings  of 
this  earth,  and  his  power,  like  that  of  all  kings,  is 
limited  by  the  power  of  neighbouring  kings. 
The  conception  of  his  unity  is  geographical  and 
political  at  least  as  much  as  it  is  religious.  Ra, 
only  god  of  Heliopolis,  is  not  the  same  as  Amen, 
only  god  of  Thebes.  The  Egyptian  of  Thebes 
proclaimed  the  unity  of  Amen  to  the  exclusion  of 
Ra,  the  Egyptian  of  Heliopolis  proclaimed  the 
unity  of  Ra  to  the  exclusion  of  Amen.  Each 
one  god,  conceived  of  in  this  manner,  is  only  the 
one  god  of  the  nome  or  of  the  town,  and  not  the 
one  god  of  the  nation  recognized  as  such  through- 
out  the  country. 

On  the  other  hand,  de  Rouge  wrote  in  i860, 
"The  unity  of  a  supreme  and  self-existent  being, 
his  eternity,  his  almightiness,  and  eternal  repro¬ 
duction  as  God  ;  the  attribution  of  the  creation 
of  the  world  and  of  all  living  beings  to  this 
supreme  God ;  the  immortality  of  the  soul, 
completed  by  the  dogma  of  punishments  and 
rewards ;  such  is  the  sublime  and  persistent 
base  which,  notwithstanding  all  deviations  and 
all  mythological  embellishments,  must  secure  for 
the  beliefs  of  the  Ancient  Egyptians  a  most 

1  La  Religion,  p.  92. 

2  Histoire  Ancienne,  Paris,  1904,  p.  33. 


TUTANKHAMEN 


142 

honourable  place  among  the  religions  of  antiquity/' 1 2 
And  in  his  work  on  the  Religion  and  Mythology 
of  the  Ancient  Egyptians3  Brugsch  expressed 
his  conviction  that,  from  the  earliest  times,  a 
nameless,  incomprehensible  and  eternal  God  was 
worshipped  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  Valley  of 
the  Nile.  This  conviction  he  based  on  many 
passages  in  the  religious  and  moral  texts  of 
the  Egyptians,  in  which  reference  is  made  to  a 
self-existent  almighty  Being  who  seems  to  be 
none  other  than  the  God  of  modern  nations. 
From  these  documents  we  learn  that  the  Egyptian 
theologians  believed  that  at  one  time,  which  was 
even  to  them  infinitely  remote,  nothing  existed 
except  a  boundless  primeval  mass  of  water  which 
was  shrouded  in  darkness,  but  which  contained 
the  ultimate  sources  of  everything  that  now 
exists  in  the  universe.  In  late  times  this  watery 
mass,  which  was  called  Nunu,  was  regarded  as 
the  “  Father  of  the  Gods.”  A  something  in 
this  water,  which  formed  an  essential  part  of  it, 
felt  the  desire  to  create  and,  having  imagined 
in  itself  the  forms  of  the  beings  and  things  that 
it  intended  to  create,  became  operative,  and  the 
first  creature  produced  was  the  god  Tern  or 
Khepera,  who  was  the  personification  of  the 
creative  power  in  the  primeval  water.  This  god 
sent  forth  from  his  body  Shu  (i.e.}  Heat)  and 
Tefnut  (Moisture),  and  these  produced  Geb  (Earth) 
and  Nut  (Sky).  Tern  or  Khepera  fashioned  the 
form  of  everything  in  his  mind  and  made  known 
his  desires  to  create  to  his  heart,  which  was 
personified  as  Thoth.  This  god  received  the 
creative  impulse  and  invented  in  his  mind  a 

1  Etudes  sur  le  Rituel  Funeraire  (in  Rev.  Arch.,  Paris,  1860, 
P.  12). 

2  Religion  und  Mythologie,  Leipzig,  1885,  p.  90. 


EGYPTIAN  MONOTHEISM 


143 

name  for  the  object  that  was  to  be  created,  and 
when  he  uttered  that  name  the  object  came  into 
being.  In  the  texts  of  the  early  Dynastic  Period 
Ptah  and  Khnemu  were  associated  with  the 
god  of  the  primeval  water,  Nunu  or  Nu,  and  they 
were  said  to  fashion  the  creatures  and  things 
the  names  of  which  were  pronounced  by  Thoth. 
Moreover,  they  associated  the  goddess  Maat  with 
Thoth,  and  the  part  she  played  at  the  creation 
was  very  much  like  that  which  is  attributed  to 
Wisdom  in  the  Book  of  Proverbs. 

What  the  earliest  pictorial  forms  of  Tern,  Ptah 
and  Khnemu  were  is  not  known,  but  the  first  and 
second  appear  as  men  at  an  early  period,  and  the 
third  is  represented  by  a  special  form  of  ram  or 
kudu.  Ra,  who  usurped  the  attributes  of  Tern, 
also  appears  as  a  man.  But  of  the  original 
creative  power  which  existed  of  and  by  itself  in 
the  watery  mass  of  Nunu  no  form  is  known.  The 
mind  of  man  was  incapable  of  imagining  him,  and 
the  hand  of  man  was  incapable  of  making  a  figure 
that  could  be  considered  to  be  an  image  or  likeness 
of  him.  Under  the  XVIIIth  dynasty  an  Egyptian 
scribe  composed  a  hymn  to  Hep  (or  Hap  or  Hapi), 
the  Nile-god,  in  which  he  traced  his  origin  back 
to  the  great  watery  mass  of  Nunu.  He  says  of 
him,  “  He  cannot  be  sculptured  in  stone  in  figures 
whereon  is  placed  the  White  Crown.  He  cannot 
be  seen.  Service  cannot  be  rendered  to  him. 
Gifts  cannot  be  presented  to  him.  He  is  not  to 
be  approached  in  the  sanctuaries.  Where  he  is 
is  not  known.  He  is  not  to  be  found  in  inscribed 
shrines.  No  habitation  can  contain  him.  There 
is  none  who  acteth  as  guide  to  his  heart/' 1  The 

1  See  Egyptian  Hieratic  Papyri  in  the  British  Museum , 
Second  Series,  London,  1923,  pi.  LXXIII.  (Introduction, 
p.  31.) 


TUTANKHAMEN 


144 


Nile-god  is  thus  described  only  because  he  was  the 
direct  emanation  from  the  great  unseen,  unknown 
and  incomprehensible  creative  power,  which  had 
existed  for  ever  and  was  the  source  of  all  created 
things.  Statues  of  the  Nile-god  were  made  under 
the  last  dynasties  of  the  New  Empire,  but  the 
hymn  quoted  above  was  written  many  centuries 
earlier. 

The  religious  literature  of  Ancient  Egypt  of  all 
periods  is  abundant,  yet  in  no  class  of  it  do  we 
find  any  prayer  or  petition  addressed  to  this 
unseen  and  unknown  god.  But  in  the  Collec¬ 
tions  of  Moral  Aphorisms,  or  “  Teachings/' 
composed  by  ancient  sages,  we  find  several 
allusions  to  a  divine  power  to  which  no  personal 
name  is  given.  The  word  used  to  indicate 

/wwva 

this  power  is  Neter^ 

AAAAAA 

or  nether  gfg  [.  Many  have  tried  to  assign 

a  meaning  to  this  word  and  to  find  its  etymology, 
but  the  original  meaning  of  it  is  at  present 
unknown.  The  contexts  of  the  passages  in 
which  it  occurs  suggest  that  it  means  something 
like  “  eternal  God."  The  same  word  is  often 
used  to  describe  an  object,  animate  or  inanimate, 
which  possesses  some  unusually  remarkable  power 

or  quality,  and  in  the  plural  neteru,  nii. 


or  "j,  or  “jjl), 


AAAAAA 

O 


Mi- 1111 


it  represents  the  beings 


and  things  to  which  adoration  in  one  form  or 
another  is  paid.  The  great  God  referred  to  in  the 
Moral  Aphorisms  is  also  spoken  of  as  pa  neter , 


Isll’  God,"  just  as  the  Arabs 

speak  of  Al- Allah,  i.e.y  “  the  Allah."  The  follow¬ 
ing  examples  drawn  from  the  Precepts  of  Kagemna 


EGYPTIAN  MONOTHEISM  145 

(IVth  dynasty)  and  the  Precepts  of  Ptah-hetep 
(Vth  dynasty)  will  illustrate  this  use  of  Neter.1 

1.  The  things  which  God,  ""ji,  doeth  cannot  be 

known. 

2.  Terrify  not  men.  God,  ^ji,  is  opposed  thereto. 

3.  The  daily  bread  is  under  the  dispensation  of 

God,  J 1 . 

4.  When  thou  ploughest,  labour  (?)  in  the  field 
God,  ^  1 ,  hath  given  thee. 

5.  If  thou  wouldst  be  a  perfect  man  make  thy 

son  pleasing  to  God,  ^  1 . 

6.  God,  ^  1 ,  loveth  obedience  ;  disobedience 

is  hateful  to  God,  ^  1 . 

7.  Verily  a  good  (or,  beautiful)  son  is  the  gift  of 

God,  ^  1 . 

These  extracts  suggest  that  the  writers  of  the 
Precepts  believed  in  a  God  whose  plans  were 
inscrutable,  who  was  the  feeder  of  men,  who 
assigned  to  each  a  share  of  the  goods  of  this 
world,  and  who  expected  men  to  obey  his  behests 
and  to  bring  up  their  children  in  a  way  pleasing 
to  him.  As  time  went  on  the  ideas  of  the  Egyp¬ 
tians  about  God  changed,  and  under  the  XVIIIth 
dynasty  he  lost  something  of  the  aloofness  with 

1  They  are  taken  from  the  Prisse  Papyrus  which  was  written 
under  the  Xlth  or  Xllth  dynasty.  See  Virey,  Etudes  sur 
le  Papyrus  Prisse ,  Paris,  1877,  where  a  transcript  of  the 
hieratic  text  and  a  French  translation  will  be  found. 


K 


146 


TUTANKHAMEN 


which  they  regarded  him,  and  a  fuller  idea  of  his 
personality  existed  in  their  minds.  This  is  clear 
from  the  following  extracts  taken  from  the 
Precepts,  or  Teaching,  of  Khensu-hetep,1  more 
generally  known  as  the  “  Maxims  of  Ani.” 

1.  The  God,  ^1,  magnifies  his  name. 

2.  The  house  of  God  abominates  overmuch 

speaking.  Pray  with  a  loving  heart,  the 
words  of  which  are  hidden.  He  will  do 
what  is  needful  for  thee,  he  will  hear  thy 
petitions  and  will  accept  thine  oblations. 

3.  It  is  thy  God,  ^  ^ ,  who  gives  thee  existence. 

4.  The  God,  is  the  judge  of 

the  truth. 

5.  When  thou  makest  an  offering  to  thy  God 

beware  of  offering  what  he  abominates. 

The  unknown  God  of  the  early  dynasties  has  now 
become  a  Being  who  gives  men  their  lives  and 
means  of  subsistence,  who  can  be  approached  in 
a  temple,  or  house,  who  is  pleased  with  offerings, 
and  with  prayers  offered  up  silently  to  him,  and 
who  wishes  his  name  to  be  magnified.  Another 
extract  reads  : — 

6.  "  Observe  with  thine  eye  his  plans  (or  dis¬ 

pensation).  Devote  thyself  to  singing 
praises  to  his  name.  He  gives  souls  to 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  forms.  He 
magnifies  him  that  magnifies  him.” 

1  See  Chabas,  L’Egyptologie,  Serie  I.,  Chalon-sur-Sadne, 
Paris,  1876-78 ;  and  AmSineau,  La  Morale  Egyptimne, 
Paris,  1892. 


EGYPTIAN  MONOTHEISM 


147 


The  text  continues  :  “Now  the  god  of  this 

earth  is  Shu,  w^°  President 

of  the  Horizons.  His  similitudes  are  upon  the 
earth,  and  to  them  incense  and  offerings  are 
made  daily.’ ’  Shu  in  mythological  language  was 
the  light  and  heat  that  emanated  from  the  self- 
created,  self-subsistent  and  self-existent  primeval 
god,  Horus,  or  Tern,  or  Khepera.  The  being  who  is 
referred  to  in  the  first  part  of  extract  No.  6  seems 
to  me  to  be  different  from  Shu,  the  god  of  this 
earth.  And  it  will  be  remembered  that  Amen- 
hetep  IV,  the  “  Disk-worshipper,”  adored  “  Horus 
of  the  Two  Horizons  in  his  name  of  Shu  (i.e., 
Heat)  who  is  in  the  Aten  (Disk).” 

The  Teaching  of  Amenemapt,  the  son  of 
Kanekht,  a  work  that  was  probably  written  under 
the  XVIIIth  dynasty,  proves  quite  plainly  that 
the  writer  distinguished  very  clearly  between  God 
and  the  gods  Ra,  the  Moon-god,  Thoth,  Khnem- 
Ra,  Aten,  etc.  In  the  following  extracts  he 
clearly  refers  to  God. 

1.  Leave  the  angry  man  in  the  hands  of  God 

.  .  .  God  knows  how  to  requite  him 

(Col.  V). 

2.  Carry  not  away  the  servant  of  the  God  for  the 

benefit  of  another  (Col.  VI). 

3.  Take  good  heed  to  Nebertcher, 

(Lord  of  the  Universe)  (Col.  VIII). 

4.  Though  a  man's  tongue  steers  the  boat,  it 

is  Nebertcher  who  is  the  pilot  (Col.  XIX). 

5.  Truth  is  the  great  porter  (or  bearer)  of 

God  (Col.  XXI). 

6.  Seat  thyself  in  the  hands  of  God  (Col. 

XXIII). 


K  2 


TUTANKHAMEN 


148 

7.  A  man  prepares  the  straw  for  his  building, 

but  God  is  his  architect. 

It  is  he  who  throws  down,  it  is  he  who 
builds  up  daily. 

It  is  he  who  makes  a  man  to  arrive  in 
Amentt  (the  Other  World)  [where]  he  is 
safe  in  the  hand  of  God  (Col.  XXIV). 

8.  The  love  of  God,  praised  and  adored  be  he  ! 

is  more  than  the  respect  of  the  Chief  (Col. 
XXVI).1 

It  will  be  noted  that  in  none  of  these  extracts 
is  any  attempt  made  to  describe  God,  Neter,  and 
that  he  is  never  called  “  One/'  or  “  Only  One.” 
The  truth  is  that  the  Egyptians  felt  that  they 
could  not  describe  him  and  that  they  knew  nothing 
about  him,  except  that  he  existed.  This  great 
nameless,  unseen  and  unknown  God  handed 
over  to  a  number  of  inferior  beings  the  direction 
and  management  of  heaven  and  earth  and 
everything  which  was  in  them.  Those  that  were 
kind  and  considerate  to  the  human  race  men 
called  gods,  and  those  that  were  malevolent  and 
inimical  they  called  devils.  Each  community 
or  village,  however  small,  possessed  its  own 
“  god,”  whose  power  and  importance  depended 
upon  the  wealth  and  social  position  of  his  wor¬ 
shippers.  But  the  Egyptian,  whilst  adoring  the 
“  god,”  Neter,  of  his  native  city,  was  ready  to 
admit  the  existence  of  another  Neter,  who  was 
probably  the  Being  whom  we  call  God.  Thus, 
in  Chapter  CXXV  of  the  Book  of  the  Dead, 
the  deceased  says  in  his  declaration  before  the 
Forty-two  gods,  “  I  have  not  cursed  God,” 

1  See  Egyptian  Hieratic  Papyri,  ed.  Budge,  Second  Series, 
London,  1923. 


EGYPTIAN  MONOTHEISM 


149 


/WWW 


and  “  I  have  not  contemned 


>U _ Q_  _  ^ 

the  god  of  my  city,  —  1  ^  m 

The  distinction  between  “  God  ”  and 

clear  in  the 


i  < 


quite 


god  of  the  city  ”  was 
mind  of  the  Egyptian. 

It  has  been  claimed  by  some  that  Amenhetep  IV 
was  the  first  monotheist  in  Egypt,  but  the 
acceptance  of  this  statement  depends  upon  what 
meaning  is  given  to  the  word  monotheism,  i.e., 
the  doctrine  of  there  being  only  one  god.  The 
passages  from  the  Moral  Papyri  quoted  above 
show  that  the  Egyptian  priests  and  learned  men 
were  monotheistic,  even  though  they  do  not 
proclaim  the  oneness  of  the  god  to  whom  they 
refer.  The  idea  of  oneness  was  well  understood 
under  the  Ancient  Empire,  but  in  the  Pyramid 
Texts  the  attribute  is  ascribed  to  the  “  gods  ” 
and  to  kings  as  well  as  to  God.  Thus  in  Teta 

(1.  237)  the  “lord  one”  ^37  %\ — is 


mentioned ;  in  Merenra  I  the  king  is  called 

“  great  god  alone,”  ^  |  (1.  127), 2  and  is 

said  to  be  stronger  than  every  god ;  and  in 
Pepi  II  (1.  952)  the  king  is  called  the  “  one  of 

heaven,”  -\«vww  .  Now  the  monotheism 

I  '  F==} 

of  Amenhetep  IV  was  different  from  that  of 
the  writers  of  the  Moral  Papyri,  and  the  oneness 
of  Aten  which  he  proclaimed  resembled  the  oneness 
of  several  other  Egyptian  solar  gods  and  also 


1  From  the  Papyrus  of  Nebseni.  Early  XVIIIth  dynasty. 


2  And  “  Lord  of  the  earth  to  its  limit  ” 
(1.  128). 


i5o 


TUTANKHAMEN 


gods  to  whom  solar  attributes  had  not  been 
originally  ascribed.  Tern,  Horus  of  the  Two 
Horizons,  and  Ra,  each  of  these  is  called  “  One,” 
and  “  only  one,”  whether  mentioned  singly  or 
together  as  a  triad,  and  the  same  title  was  given 
to  Amen  after  his  fusion  with  Ra.  And  whilst 
Amenhetep  IV  was  proclaiming  the  oneness  of 
Aten  in  the  city  of  Aten,  the  worshipper  of  Amen 
was  proclaiming  the  oneness  of  Amen  in  Thebes, 
the  worshipper  of  Ra  or  Tern  was  proclaiming 
the  oneness  of  his  god  in  Heliopolis,  and  so  on 
throughout  the  country.  And  it  is  interesting  to 
note  that  votaries  of  Neith  of  Sais  proclaimed 


that  their  goddess  was  “  One,” 


she  first  created  herself,  and  then  produced 
Ra  from  her  own  body.  The  second  portion  of 
a  fine  Hymn  to  the  solar  triad,  which  is  preserved 
in  the  Papyrus  of  Ani  (sheet  19),  and  is  addressed 
to  R a-Tem-Her  aakhut i  the  “  only  one,”  adds 
Osiris  to  this  “  only  one  ”  thus  :  “  Praise  be  to  thee, 
O  Osiris,  eternal  Lord,  Un-nefer,  Heraakhuti, 
whose  forms  are  manifold  and  whose  attributes 
are  majestic,  Ptah-Seker-Tem  in  Anu,  lord  of 
the  hidden  shrine  and  creator  of  ITetkaptah 
(Memphis)  .  .  .  thou  turnest  thy  face  to 

the  Other  World,  thou  makest  the  earth  to  shine 
like  tchdm  (gilded  copper?).  The  dead  rise  up 
to  look  at  thee,  they  breathe  the  air  and  they 
see  thy  face  like  that  of  the  Aten  (Disk)  when 
he  rises  on  his  horizon.  Since  they  see  thee  their 
hearts  are  content,  O  thou  who  art  Eternity  and 
E  verlas  tingness .  ’ ' 

It  is  impossible  for  Amenhetep  IV  to  have 
indulged  in  the  philosophical  speculations  as  to 
the  unity  of  God,  with  which  he  is  sometimes 
credited,  but  which  were  only  evolved  by  the  Greek 

1  See  Budge,  Gods  of  the  Egyptians ,  Vol.  I,  p.  458. 


EGYPTIAN  MONOTHEISM 


151 


philosophers  a  thousand  years  later.  It  is,  how¬ 
ever,  very  probable  that  he  wished  Aten,  as  the 
god  of  absolute  truth  and  justice,  to  become  the 
national  god  of  Egypt  and  divine  ruler  of  all  the 
countries  of  the  Sudan  and  Western  Asia  that 
formed  his  dominions.  If  that  be  so,  he  was 
born  too  late  to  bring  this  about,  even  supposing 
that  he  was  physically  and  mentally  fit  to  under¬ 
take  such  a  task.  When  he  ascended  the  throne, 
Amen,  or  Amen-Ra,  the  King  of  the  Gods,  the 
Lord  of  the  world,  was  actually  what  Amenhetep 
wished  Aten  to  be.  Amen  had  expelled  the 
Hyksos  and  set  the  first  king  of  the  XVIIIth 
dynasty  upon  his  throne,  and  he  had  given  victory 
to  the  successors  of  Aahmes  I  and  filled  Egypt  with 
the  wealth  of  the  Sudan  and  Western  Asia.  Amen 
had  become  the  overlord  of  the  gods,  and  his  fame 
filled  the  greater  part  of  the  world  that  was  known 
to  the  Egyptians.  It  was  impossible  to  overthrow 
the  great  and  wealthy  priesthood  of  Amen,  to 
say  nothing  of  the  social  institutions  of  which 
Amen  was  the  head.  The  monotheism  of  Amen¬ 
hetep  from  a  religious  point  of  view  was  not  new, 
but  from  a  political  point  of  view  it  was.  It  con¬ 
sisted  chiefly  of  the  dogma  that  Amen  was  unfit 
to  be  the  national  god  of  Egypt,  the  Sudan  and 
Syria,  and  that  Aten  was  more  just,  more 
righteous,  and  more  merciful  than  the  upstart 
god  of  Thebes,  and  that  Aten  alone  was  fitted  to 
be  the  national  god  of  Egypt  and  her  dominions. 
When  Amenhetep  tried  to  give  a  practical  form 
to  his  views,  his  attempt  was  accompanied,  as 
has  frequently  been  the  case  with  religious  "  re¬ 
formers/'  by  the  confiscation  of  sacrosanct  property, 
and  by  social  confusion  and  misery.  It  was 
fortunate  for  Egypt  that  she  only  produced  one 
king  who  was  an  individualist  and  idealist,  a 
pacifist  and  a  religious  “  reformer  ”  all  in  one. 


152  TUTANKHAMEN 

Amenhetep  IV  attempted  to  establish  a  positive 
religion,  and  as  a  religious  innovator  he  spoke  and 
acted  as  if  he  were  divinely  inspired  and  had  a 
divine  revelation  to  give  to  men,  and  in  every  way 
he  tried  to  depart  from  the  traditions  of  the  past. 
He  never  realised  that  if  his  religion  was  to  take 
root  and  flourish  it  must  be  in  contact  all  along 
the  line  with  the  older  ideas  and  practices  which 
he  found  among  his  people.  Religion  did  not 
begin  with  him  in  Egypt.  He  failed  in  his  self- 
appointed  task  because  his  religion  did  not  appeal 
to  the  tradition  and  religious  instincts  and  suscep¬ 
tibilities  that  already  existed  among  the  Egyptians, 
and  because  he  would  not  tolerate  the  traditional 
forms  in  which  their  spiritual  feelings  were  em¬ 
bodied. 


* 


— 


INDEX. 


Aa-em-aha-f,  86, 

Aafimes  I,  151  ;  his  tomb,  92. 

Aakhunaten,  68,  85,  106. 

Aakhut-Aten,  87,  96,  108  ff., 
119,  120,  121. 

Aapep,  105. 

Abd-Ashratum,  100,  10 1, 

Abi-Milki,  101. 

Abu  (Elephantine),  5. 

Abydos,  16,  28,  35. 

Acrobats,  9,  92. 

Ai,  priest  and  king,  76,  77,  92, 
108  ;  Hymn  of,  to  Aten,  94, 
123. 

‘Ain-ash-Shams,  60. 

Ajalon,  102. 

Akhenaton,  85  ;  and  see  Aak¬ 
hunaten. 

Aksaph,  100 

Alexander  the  Great,  16. 

Al-Hakim,  107. 

Al-Kab,  10. 

Allah,  Al-Allah,  144, 

Amasis  I,  20,  28. 

Ambi,  100. 

Amelineau,  E.,  146. 

Amen  attacked  by  Amenhetep 
IV,  79  ff.  ;  becomes  incar¬ 
nate,  22;  City  of,  15;  daily 
worship  of,  34  ;  his  name 
erased,  83  ;  figures  of,  in 
gold  and  silver,  6  ;  history 
of,  14  ff.  ;  Hymn  to,  29  ;  in 
Nubia  and  Oases,  16  ;  his 
revenues  seized,  96  ;  his 
temple  at  Karnak,  The  One, 
31  ;  as  the  World-god,  17  ; 
his  three  characters,  42  ; 
triumph  of,  108  ;  his  wealth, 

76. 

Amenemapt,  Teaching  of,  1 1 5, 

147- 


Amenhetep  I,  founder  of  the 
priesthood  of  Amen,  9. 

Amenhetep  II,  17,  18,  74. 

Amenhetep  III,  son  of  Amen, 
65  ;  incarnation  of  Amen- 
Ra,  24  ;  his  reign  and  works, 
22  ff.  ;  god  of  Nubia,  24  ; 
his  temple  at  Sulb,  12  ;  his 
tomb,  73  ;  his  wives,  69. 

Amenhetep  IV,  4,  68  ;  enemy 
of  Amen  and  the  gods,  76  ; 
founds  a  city,  84  ;  changes 
his  name,  85  ;  his  titles,  86  ; 
his  Teaching,  87  ;  becomes 
high  priest,  88  ;  offerings  to 
Aten,  88  ;  loses  Syria,  98  ; 
gifts,  mean,  98  ;  physical 
form  of,  103  ;  death  and 
burial,  104;  scarab  of,  104; 
character  of,  106  ;  had  water 
on  the  brain,  76  ;  his  Hymn 

to  Aten,  1 16  ff. 

•  ' 

Amenit,  figure  of,  14. 

Amenites,  the,  84. 

Amen-Mut-Khensu  Triad,  24. 

Amen-Ra,  4,  66,  15 1  ;  figure 
of,  14;  acknowledges  Amen¬ 
hetep  III,  23  ;  Hymns  to, 

.  35  ff- 

Amentt,  64,  148. 

Ani,  92  ;  Maxims  of,  146  ; 
Papyrus  of,  150. 

Ankh-em-Maat,  86. 

Ankh-s-en-pa-Amen,  princess, 

Ankh  -  s  - en  -  pa  -  Aten,  princess, 
2,  91,  92. 

Anpu  (Anubis),  28  ;  figure  of, 
29. 

Anqit,  figure  of,  25. 

Anu  (On),  4,  56,  150  ;  the 
pillar  city,  63. 


154 


INDEX 


Anu  of  the  South,  3. 

Anubis,  27. 

Apes,  the  singing,  33. 

Api,  92  ;  tomb  of,  116. 

Apit,  15. 

Apt,  52,  54. 

Arabia,  60. 

Artatama,  20. 

Arts  and  crafts,  73. 

Ashuruballit,  98. 

Assalbergs,  Dr.,  103. 

Assyria,  20. 

Ast,  daughter  of  Ti,  68. 

Asy&t,  84. 

Aten,  the  Solar  Disk,  2,  28  ; 
cult  of,  55  ff.  ;  officially 
recognised,  68  ;  temples  of, 
92  ;  development  of  cult  of, 
75;  Hymns  to,  32,  in  ff., 
113,  1 14,  131,  138;  figure 
of,  78,  79. 

Aten,  temple  of,  at  Thebes,  2  ; 
at  Luxor,  83. 

Aten,  the  One  or  Only  One, 
33- 

Atenism,  86. 

Atenites,  84,  108  ;  beliefs  of, 
96  ;  ruin  Egypt,  8. 

Atenmerit,  2,  92. 

Atet  Boat,  81. 

Athen-tehen,  Boat  of,  68. 

Atmu,  64. 

At-  Tall,  108,  109. 

At-  Till,  109. 

Aziru,  100,  101. 


Babylon,  87. 

Babylonia,  20,  71,  73. 

Bakt  -  Aten  (Baktenaten),  68, 
89,  92. 

Bani  ‘Amran,  109. 

Beetle-god,  59. 

Bek  the  architect,  89. 

Benben  Obelisk,  119. 

Ben-  (Benben-)  Stone,  63,  83. 


!  Bennu,  58  ;  bird,  63. 

!  Bezold,  Dr.,  100. 

I  Bi-ib-khu-ru-ri-ya-ash,  13. 

Birch,  Dr.  S.,  46,  85. 

Birkat  Habu,  68. 

Bissing,  F.  von,  61. 

Block  of  Slaughter,  95. 

I  Blood  of  Sun-god,  83. 

Boghaz  Keui,  21  ;  tablets  of, 
13- 

Book  of  Gates,  94. 

Book  of  Opening  the  Mouth, 

94- 

Book  of  the  Dead  rejected  by 
the  Atenites,  94. 

Book  of  the  Dweller  in  the 

I 

Tuat,  94. 

Book  of  the  Two  Ways,  94. 
Boomerang  of  Tutankhamen, 
12. 

Borchart,  Dr.,  61. 

Bork,  Dr.,  quoted,  21. 
Boundary  Stelae  of  Amenhetep 
IV,  84. 

Bouriant,  in. 

Brahmans,  115. 

Breasted,  Prof.,  112. 

Brugsch,  Dr.  H.,  142. 

Buhen,  10. 

Burraburiyash,  98. 

Byblos,  100  ff. 


Caravans,  20,  60,  72  ;  pillage 
of,  102. 

Carnarvon  Collection,  6. 

Carter,  Mr.  Howard,  no. 
Caspian  Group  of  Languages, 
21. 

Cataract,  First,  24. 

Cataract,  Fourth,  10,  18,  67. 
Chabas,  F.,  146. 

Champollion  quoted,  13,  140. 
Christians,  107. 

Circle,  the,  80. 

City  of  Amen,  54. 


INDEX  155 


City  of  God,  84. 

Colossi  of  Amenfietep  III,  72. 
Country,  the  Everlasting,  138. 
Cyprus,  98. 

Da-kha-mu-un,  Queen,  13. 
Dancing  men  and  women,  92. 
Daressy  quoted,  16,  hi. 
Davies,  N.  de  G.,  92,  nr,  116. 
Davis,  Mr.  T.,  11,  66. 
Davis-Maspero-Daressy,  12. 
Death-god,  63,  80. 

Delta,  5. 

Der-al-Bahari,  22. 
de  Rouge,  141. 

Destiny,  41. 

Devils,  148. 

Disk,  the  Living,  Eternal,  80  ; 
see  Aten. 

Disk  -  worshippers,  147  ;  see 
Atenites. 

Dyaus  Pitar,  113. 

Elephantine,  5,  10,  73. 

Elysian  Fields,  95. 

Eternity  =  God,  150. 
Euphrates,  67. 

Everlastingness  =  God,  150. 

Father  Amen,  18. 
Father-mother,  33. 

Father  of  the  Gods,  142. 

Field  of  Grasshoppers,  Offer¬ 
ings  and  Reeds,  95. 

Gardiner,  Dr.  A.,  42. 

Garvin,  Mr.,  109. 

Geb,  37,  38  ;  figure  of,  80. 
Gebal,  100  ff. 

Gem-Aten,  83. 

Gem-pa-Aten,  89. 

Gilukhipa,  69. 

Gizah,  61. 

God,  ideas  of,  142  ff. 

God,  One,  129. 


God,  the  city  or  village,  148, 
149- 

Gods,  Aryan,  70. 

Gods,  erasure  of  names  of,  83  ; 
of  the  cardinal  points,  137  ; 
solar,  64,  79  ;  the  Eight  of 
Hermopolis,  41. 

Gold,  abundance  of,  72. 

Great  Green  [Sea],  127. 

Great  Hawk,  49. 

I  Great  Seer,  87. 

!  Grebaut,  E.,  42. 

Hagg  Kandil,  108. 
j  Hall,  Dr.  H.  R.,  12,  73,  77, 
j  104. 

I  Hap  (Nile),  143. 

!  Harmhabi,  Tomb  of,  12. 
Harpokrates,  31. 

I  Hathor  of  Thebes,  figure  of,  27. 
Hatshepsut,  22. 

Hawk,  the  Great,  37. 

Heaven  Father,  113. 

Heh  Season,  132. 
j  Heka,  23. 

Heliopolis,  4,  16,  60,  14 1  ;  cult 
of,  56  ;  high  priest  of,  87  ; 
priests  of,  15,  21,  83. 
Heliopolitans,  98. 

!  Hemhemti,  105. 

Henmemet,  45,  49. 

Hentaneb,  68. 

Hep  (Nile),  143. 

Hepi,  son  of  Osiris,  figure  of, 

95- 

Heqit,  figure  of,  81. 

Her  (Horus),  55. 

Her  and  Suti,  architects,  26  ; 
Hymn  of,  46. 

Heraakhuti,  59,  65,  138 ;  figure 
of,  19  ;  Hymn  to,  120. 
Heremheb,  2,  97,  108. 
Hermonthis,  3,  27,  89  ;  War- 
god  of,  33. 

Hermopolis,  4,  41. 

[  Her-Sems,  figure  of,  31,  56. 


INDEX 


156 

Her-ur,  56. 

Hetkaptah,  150. 

IJet  Kha-em-maat,  24. 
Hinatuna,  91. 

Hittites,  98. 

Horus,  4,  147  ;  lands  of,  6  ; 
of  the  Two  Horizons,  19  ; 
the  Aged,  figure  of,  31  ; 
Avenger  of  his  father,  figure 
of,  33  ;  the  Child,  31. 

Horus  and  Set,  figures,  56. 
Horus-name,  3. 

House  of  Aten,  89. 

Hrosny,  Dr.  F.,  13. 

Hui,  11,  92  ;  tomb  of,  10. 
Hunt  Scarabs,  70. 

Hyksos,  15 1. 

Hymns  to  Aten,  94  ff. 

Ikh-en-aten,  85. 

Ikhnaton,  85. 

Image,  the  One,  38,  39,  44. 
Images  of  the  gods,  7. 

India,  21,  69. 

Intar,  21. 

Intaruda,  100. 

Isis,  28,  80  ;  figure  of,  59. 

Iuaa,  66  ff. 

Jabal  Barkal,  10,  18. 

Jackal  Avenue,  73. 

Jerusalem,  87. 

Jews,  107. 

Judgment,  the  Last,  95. 

Jupiter  Ammon,  16. 

Kagemna,  Precepts  of,  144. 
Kamutf,  4. 

Kanekht,  115,  147. 
Kanekht-tut-mes,  3. 
Karaduniyash,  20,  98. 

Karei,  67. 

Karnak,  4,  15,  19,  28,  34,  43, 

52,  72. 

Kesh,  Prince  of,  10. 

Khabiri,  Khabiru,  98,  100,  iot. 


j  Khabhr,  72. 

Khartum,  17. 

Khensu,  27  ;  figure  of,  29. 
Khensu-hetep,  Precepts  of,  146. 
Khepera,  29,  30,  44,  46,  50,  60, 
70,  138,  142,  147. 

Khepera,  the  One,  31. 
Khephren,  61. 
j  Kheprer,  49. 

Kheta,  98. 

Khnemu,  73,  143  ;  the  One, 

79- 

Khnem,  figure  of,  25  ;  temple 
of,  24. 

Khnem  Amen,  32,  49. 
Khnem-Ra,  147. 

King  of  the  Battle,  no. 

Kohl  tubes  of  Tutankhamen, 
12. 

Koshah,  67. 

Kriosphinxes,  Avenue  of,  72. 
Kurnah,  13. 

Lake  of  Horus,  137. 

Lake  of  Mut,  72. 

Lake  of  Testes,  137. 

Land,  the  Eternal,  138. 

Lapaya,  102. 

Law  and  Truth,  137. 

Legrain,  discoveries  of,  3. 
Lepsius,  10,  12. 

Light,  1 13. 

Lion  hunts  of  Amenhetep  III, 
72- 

Lion  scarabs,  70. 

Liturgy  of  Funerary  Offerings, 

94- 

Lord,  One,  the,  149. 

Loret,  V.,  74. 

Luxor,  24,  28,  72. 

Maam,  10. 

I  Maat,  35,  117,  139,  143;  figure 
of,  86  ;  meaning  of,  87. 

Mai,  92. 

Maket-Aten,  92. 


INDEX 


157 


Makkah,  87. 

Man-god,  57,  143. 

Manu,  49. 

Marduk,  60. 

Mary,  the  Virgin,  61. 

Matchau,  43. 

Matet  Boat,  136,  138. 

Maxwell,  Sir  J.,  hi. 
Mediterranean,  72,  127. 
Memphis,  4,  6,  16,  150  ;  under¬ 
world  of,  28. 

Memphites,  98. 

Menthu,  figure  of,  33. 

Menu  Kamutf,  figure  of,  36. 
Merimes,  stele  of,  71. 

Merira,  high  priest,  89. 

Merira  I,  tomb  of,  92. 

Merira  II,  tomb  of,  92. 
Meritaten,  Princess,  2,  104. 
Meriti,  43. 

Merit-Ra,  1. 

Mesopotamia,  102. 

Mesta,  figure  of,  95. 
Mi-it-ra-ash-shi-il,  21. 

Mitanni,  20,  65,  69,  71,  73; 

language  of,  21 ;  gods  of,  21. 
Mithras,  21,  69. 

Mitra,  21,  113. 

Monier  Williams,  113. 
Monotheism,  149  ;  Egyptian, 
140  ff. 

Moon-god,  147. 

Moret  quoted,  35. 

Mother  =  Aten,  49. 
Mummification,  96. 

Mustafa  Agha,  109. 

Mut,  figure  of,  27  ;  temple  of, 
72. 

Mut-em-uaa,  20,  22,  24,  65. 
Mycerinus,  61. 

Naharn,  67. 

Nak,  44. 

Napata,  10,  18,  67,  71,  76  ; 
Syrian  chief  hung  on  walls  of, 
18. 


Nasatiya,  21. 

Nau  and  Nen,  14. 

Naville,  Prof.  E.,  16,  22,  140. 
Nebertcher,  147. 

Nebkheperura,  3,  12. 
Nebmaatra,  24,  52. 

Nebseni,  Papyrus  of,  149. 
Nebt-Unnut,  138. 

Nebti-name,  3,  20,  65. 
Nefer-hapus-gerh-taui,  3. 

Nefer  -  kheperu  -  her  -  sekheper, 
92. 

Nefer-neferu-Aten,  92. 
Nefer-neferu-Ra,  92. 

Nefertari,  Queen,  28. 

Nefertiti,  Queen,  76,  91,  93, 
io5>  135 ;  head  of,  109. 
Negau,  8. 

Neherna,  69. 

Neith,  30,  150. 

Nekhen,  10. 

Nen,  14. 

Nenu,  58,  61. 

Nephthys,  80  ;  figure  of,  56. 
Nest-taui  (Thebes),  10. 
Nesubat-name,  3. 

Net  (Neith),  figure  of,  30. 
Neter,  God  and  “god,”  144. 

Ni,  100. 

Nile,  130-32. 

Nile-god,  23,  143,  144. 

Nine  Gods,  45. 

No-Amon,  15. 

Nu,  58,  139,  143- 

Nubia,  10,  89;  gold  of,  11; 

tribute  of,  97. 

Nun,  44. 

Nunu,  139,  142,  143. 

Nut,  23,  49, 50, 137 ;  figure  of,  38. 
Nut- Amen,  15. 

Obelisk,  symbol  of  Ra,  62  ff. 
Offerings,  pure,  146. 

Ogdoad  of  Thoth,  81. 

Old  Hawk,  49. 

On,  43  ;  see  Anu. 


158 


INDEX 


One,  148  ;  title  of  Ra  and  other 
gods,  31-33. 

One  Alone,  44,  45. 

One  God,  14 1. 

One  of  Heaven,  149. 

One  Watcher,  the,  49. 

Oneness,  42,  79,  149,  150. 

Only  God,  141. 

Only  One,  58,  137,  148. 

Osiris,  27,  64,  80,  95,  137,  141  ; 

figures  of,  59,  63. 

Osiris  Un-Nefer,  28. 

Other  World  ;  see  Tuat,  150. 

Palestine,  5. 

Palette  of  Tutankhamen,  13. 
Panehsi,  92. 

Pantheism,  141. 

Parennefer,  92. 

Pautti,  34,  40,  41. 

Peet,  Prof.,  no. 

Penthu,  92. 

Pepi  II,  149. 

Peqa  at  Abydos,  28. 
Per-Aakheperkara,  6. 

Per-Aten,  83,  89. 

Per-gem-Aten,  89. 

Pert  Season,  132. 

Pest  (Ennead),  58. 

Petrie,  Prof.,  109. 

Phoenicia,  11,  17,  71,  98. 
Phoenix,  58,  64. 

Phoinix,  61. 

Piankhi,  61. 

Piehl,  K.,  in. 

Pierret,  P.,  46. 

Pillar,  cult  of  the,  63. 

Planets,  136. 

Prayer,  silent,  146. 

Prayer  to  Aten,  115. 

Prisse  Papyrus,  145. 

Ptah,  4,  97,  141,  143;  figure 
«  of,  7,  39. 

Ptafi-hetep,  145. 
Ptah-Seker-Asar,  63. 
Ptah-Seker-Tem,  150. 


Punishment,  95. 

Punt,  43. 

Pyramid  Texts,  14,  57,  63. 

Qebhsenuf,  son  of  Osiris,  95. 
Quintus  Curtius,  16. 

Ra,  58,  98,  124,  143,  147  ; 

becomes  incarnate,  22 ; 
Hymn  to,  112,  136  ff. ;  soul 
of,  58 ;  the  Sun-god,  60  ff. 
Ra-Atem,  64. 

Ra-Aten,  138. 

Ra-Heraakhuti,  4,  28,  64. 
Ra-Khepera,  64. 

Rames,  92. 

Ra-Tem-Heraakhuti,  150. 

Red  Land,  6. 

Red  Sea,  127. 

Register,  the  Celestial,  58. 
Renp-khaus-hetep-neteru,  3. 
Res-Ra-em-Anu,  89. 
Resurrection,  the  Osirian,  63. 
Retennu  (Rethennu),  Upper, 
11,  18. 

Retribution,  95. 

Rib  Adda,  100  ff. 

Rig- Veda,  114. 

Ruttet,  22. 

Sacrifices,  62. 

Sadenga,  67,  104. 

Sakara,  92,  103,  108. 

Samnah,  71. 

Sargon  of  Akkad,  no. 

Sarha,  102. 

Satamen,  68. 

Sati,  figure  of,  25. 

Savitri,  113. 

Scarabs  of  Amenhetep  III  and 
his  son,  67,  104. 

Schafer,  Dr.,  61. 

Schroeder,  Dr.,  no. 

Seasons,  the  Two,  33,  132. 
Sebak,  figure  of,  30 
Sebau  fiends,  44,  137. 


INDEX 


j59 


Seker,  28,  63. 

Sekhmit,  figure  of,  39. 
Sektet-Boat,  81,  137,  138,  139. 
Senmut,  architect,  72. 

Set,  80. 

Set  and  Horus,  figure  of,  56. 

Set  Festival,  80,  105. 

Setep-en-Ra,  92. 

Shepherd  (Ra),  137. 

Shesmu,  95. 

Shigata,  100. 

Shu,  15,  142,  147  ;  figure  of,  57. 
Shu  and  Tefnut,  80. 

Shu  in  the  Disk,  80,  116,  132. 
Shutarna,  69. 

Shuwardata,  99. 

Sidon,  101. 

Simyra,  100. 

Sin,  consciousness  of,  114. 
Singing  men  and  women,  9. 

Sin  jar,  72. 

Siwah,  Oasis  of,  16. 

Sky-god,  59. 

Sky-goddess,  137. 

Smenkhkara,  2. 

Smith,  Dr.  E.,  75,  77. 

Soleb,  12. 

Son  of  Ra  name,  3,  22,  61. 

Soul  of  Ra  (Phoenix),  64. 

Souls  of  Anu,  4. 

Sphinx,  the,  18. 

Stars,  circumpolar,  136. 

Stibium  tubes,  12. 

Storm-god,  101. 

Sfid&n,  19,  71,  104,  15 1  ;  tribute 
from,  71. 

Sulb,  12,  66,  73 ;  temple  of, 

1,  24. 

Summer,  51. 

Sun-god,  the  fourfold,  18  ;  | 
hymn  to,  136  ff. 

Sun-Stone,  the,  62. 

Sun-temples,  61,  62. 

Sfirya,  113,  115. 

Suti,  92. 

Swamps  of  Delta,  5. 


Syene,  89. 

Syria,  5,  11,  16,  17,  18,  20,  60, 

71. 73. 9»- 

!  Ta-Kenset,  24. 

|  Tall  al-‘Amarnah,  11,  75,  76  ff., 
109  ff. ;  tablets  from,  100, 
note  1. 

Tall  Banu  ‘Amran,  109. 

Tanen,  41. 

Ta-Thunen,  105. 

Tatumkhipa,  69. 

Tchah,  5. 

Tcham  metal,  30. 

Tcharukha,  6S. 

Teaching  of  Amenemapt,  147. 
Teaching  of  Ani,  146. 

Teaching  of  Khensu  -  hetep, 
146. 

Teaching  of  Ptah-hetep,  146. 
Tefnut,  15,  142  ;  figure  of,  57. 
Tern,  Temu,  4,  56,  137,  142, 
147  ;  Company  or  Nine  of, 
58;  figure  of,  19. 
Tem-Heraakhuti,  19,  136. 

Tern  in  his  Disk,  64. 

Tern,  the  One,  79. 

Tem-Ra,  80. 

Thebes,  141 ;  beautified  by 
Amen-hetep  III,  72  ;  name 
of,  15. 

Thekhsi,  18. 

Thoth,  4,  138,  142,  143,  147  ; 
figure  of,  86. 

Thothmes  III,  ti,  17,  100; 
establishes  priests  of  Amen, 

I7* 

Thothmes  IV,  17,  20,  69; 
favoured  one  of  Heliopolis, 
18;  his  Nebti-name,  65. 
Thuau,  61. 

Thunder-god,  105,  106. 
Thureau-Dangin,  100. 

Ti,  Queen,  25,  66  ff.,  75,  98; 
Lake  of,  68 ;  temple  of,  to 
Aten,  89  ;  tomb  of,  75. 


i6o 


INDEX 


Tide,  140. 

To-day,  58. 

Tombs  at  Tall  al-‘Amarnah,  92. 

Tombs  of  the  Atenites,  94. 

Tombs  of  the  Kings,  11. 

Trinity,  the  first,  58. 

Truth,  35  ;  the  bearer  of  God, 
147. 

Tuamutef,  figure  of,  95. 

Tuat,  the,  31,  41,  64,  94,  95, 
132,  138. 

Tunip,  100. 

Tushratta,  20,  69,  98,  102. 

Tutankhamen,  reign  of,  1-12  ff., 
96,  108  ;  the  tomb  discovered 
by  Davis,  12 ;  restores  wor¬ 
ship  of  Amen,  14  ff. 

Tutankhaten,  2. 

Tutu,  92  ;  tomb  of,  1 16. 

Tyre,  101. 

Umbilicus,  16. 

Unknown  =Amen,  47. 


Un-Nefer,  150. 

Ur-maa,  89. 

U-ru-un-na-ash-shi-il,  21. 

Varuna,  21,  69,  76,  1 13-15. 
Vedas,  115. 

Wad  Ba-Nagaa,  17. 

Wadi  Halfah,  10. 

Weidner,  Dr.,  no. 

Well  of  the  Sun,  60. 

White  Crown,  143. 
Winckler,  20,  100. 

Winter,  51. 

Wisdom,  143. 

Woolley,  Mr.,  rio. 

Yahweh,  112. 

Year-god,  34. 

Yesterday,  58. 

Zimrida,  101. 


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